Washington, DC  (KCSi-T.V. News Mar 26, 2013)  —  U.S. Senator, Heidi Heitkamp has responded to New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s national ad campaign, persuading Congreess to alter its position on gun legislation.

Heitkamp says New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg should worry about crime and gun issues in his own city, not North Dakota.

The North Dakota Democrat is responding to a $12 million national ad campaign launched by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group Bloomberg is supporting and co-founded. The ads support background checks. About $156,000 will be spent to run the ads in North Dakota.

Bloomberg announced the ads on Saturday.

In North Dakota, Senator Heidi Heitkamp has released  a  statement on Tuesday  in response to the Bloomberg advertising campaign.

“North Dakota continues to have one the highest rates of gun ownership and lowest incidences of gun crime in the country. Yet New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg insists on taking gun driven crime statistics in his city and from other major cities and trying to force those numbers into a narrative that just does not fit in North Dakota. Frankly, there are far better uses for Mayor Bloomberg’s $156,000, than buying ads attacking a way of life he clearly does not understand.  
 
Gun ownership in North Dakota comes down to growing up in a culture where those rights come with an ingrained responsibility taught at a young age. We are proud of our outdoor heritage and will continue to protect the rights our hunters and sport shooter, the rights of our farmers and ranchers to protect their crops and livestock from wildlife, and the rights of responsible, law abiding citizens to protect themselves and their homes.
 
We must keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the dangerously mentally ill. That is why I support each state fully reporting into the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
 
As the former attorney general of North Dakota, I do not need someone from New York City to tell me how to handle crime in our state, I know that we can go after and prosecute criminals without the need to infringe upon the second amendment rights of law abiding North Dakotans. I believe in using every tool available to find and prosecute criminals to the fullest extent of the law, and that includes criminals purchasing firearms or in the possession of firearms.
 
I wouldn’t expect Mayor Bloomberg to follow my advice on how to run a major east coast city of over 8 million people, and I don’t plan to follow his advice on what is best for North Dakotans.”