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Sen. Kelly Ayotte was once again asked by her constituents at a town hall meeting about her vote against the Manchin-Toomey background check legislation and her response this time around was to make stuff up:

Before saying anything about New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte, let's establish one thing: Although the Manchin-Toomey background check proposal would have expanded background checks for gun purchases, it wouldn't have created a national firearms registry. In fact, it would have strengthened existing law barring the creation of any such registry and stiffened penalties against any official who violated or tried to violate the prohibition.

With that said, check out Ayotte's explanation on Thursday afternoon for why she voted against expanded background checks:

I will tell you in terms of a universal background check, as it's been framed, I have a lot of concerns about that leading to a registry that will lead to a privacy situation for lawful firearms owners.

That's total bull. The text of the legislation would have explicitly prohibited the creation of a national gun registry in not one, not two, but three separate places. Read on...

Here's more from Steve Benen: The facts Ayotte doesn't want her constituents to know:

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President George W. Bush’s former chief strategist Matthew Dowd on Sunday lashed out at Congress for moving so quickly to fund air traffic controllers because lawmakers were personally "about to get delayed at the airports," while they couldn't pass background checks to protect children from mass shootings.

During a panel discussion on ABC's This Week, Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile noted that Congress had rushed through a bill to avert air traffic controller furloughs caused by automatic budget cuts in the so-called sequester, but ignored the pain the cuts were causing less-wealthy Americans.

"This sequester will have real impact on real people in real time, not just members of Congress, but people that work for the park service, medical research as the NIH begin to make those cuts, it's impacting Meals on Wheels, kids who are in kindergarten," Brazile explained. "So I really do think that Congress needs to take a second look at this."

Former Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich, however, called the air traffic controller bill "a real victory for fiscal conservatism" because Congress moved funds around, instead of undoing any budget cuts.

"Doesn't that mean the politically weakest are going to bear the biggest burden?" ABC host George Stephanopolous wondered.

"Not necessarily," Gingrich insisted. "It may mean the most corrupt are going to bear the biggest burden. It may mean the dumbest are going to bear the biggest burden. When you look at a $4 trillion government, you can find lots of really stupid things to quit paying for."

But Dowd found it "amazing" that the bitterly partisan Congress could only find a way to work together when they personally faced the possibility of spending some additional time on the tarmac.

"The only way they're bipartisan is to do something for themselves," he quipped. "It's amazing the speed at which they did that. We have this horrible shooting where all these children die in Connecticut, we can't pass gun control legislation. But oh by the way, you're about to get delayed at the airport through some small budget cuts -- which I still don't understand why we make policy the way we make policy. Everybody knows there's a fiscal crisis in this country, everybody knows we don't have the revenue to meet the expenses in this country, somebody has to bear pain, but we act in Washington like nobody has to bear any pain. So as soon as anybody bears any pain, we're going to take it back from them."

"I think many members of Congress have bought into a myth that doesn't exist anymore," he added. "I think most of what's gong on in gun control is there's not this huge vehement group of people saying I'm going to defeat you if you vote for background checks, I'm going to defeat you if you vote for high-capacity magazines... What there is, though, is a group of folks in Washington that are scared of their shadow on this issue, both some Democrats and a lot of Republicans."

"The myth doesn't exist anymore, but they're afraid to go launch themselves through it and do something about it."

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During a Wednesday debate on the Senate floor, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) could be heard laughing out loud after Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) claimed that expanded gun background checks was part of a "push for a federal registry."

After Cruz said that he objected to a bipartisan plan to extended background checks to gun shows and Internet sales because it "would put us inexorably on a path to a national gun registry," Schumer pointed out that the same background check system had been used for 17 years for federal fire licensees (FFLs).

"It's the same technique, it's the same entry into the book and everything else," the New York Democrat argued.

"But what is consequential," Cruz opined, "is extending it to private sellers, not licensed dealers because the argument surely would be -- if this bill passed, the argument would immediately become, 'Well, it can't possibly be effective because we don't know who owns those firearms.'"

Schumer pressed: "Just one more question, has my colleague in the last 17 years detected any move out of Washington for national registration, any specific substantive move by ATF, the Justice Department or any other federal agency to begin a campaign, a move to any kind of national registration?"

"It is not currently proposed, but if the bill that is being considered were adopted it would put us on that path," Cruz insisted.

At that point, laughter could be heard off camera. A Senate Democratic aide later confirmed to The Huffington Post that the guffaw had come from Schumer.

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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) corrected NBC host David Gregory on Sunday after he repeated the National Rifle Association's (NRA) talking points in opposition to expanding gun background checks even though only 10 percent of the country agrees with the lobbying group.

During a panel discussion on NBC's Meet the Press, Gregory argued that "not a lot is about to be accomplished" even if the Senate succeeds in passing a bill to close the so-called gun show loophole and expand background checks to Internet sales.

"I disagree," Gillibrand insisted. "I think we have a very good start on beginning to crack down on gun crime. And the bottom line is the families of Newtown, the families all across America who lose children every single day, they deserve a vote, they deserve an answer, they deserve leadership out of Washington."

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) argued that the background check proposal "would serve primarily to limit the rights of law-abiding citizens, while doing little of anything to prevent tragedies like [Newtown] from occurring in the future."

Gregory asked Gillibrand if supporting gun control would be "tough" to do after she had touted a pro-NRA voting record during the 2008 election.

"That's why I know this bill will work," the New York Democrat explained. "It is making sure you protect Second Amendment rights. We're not undermining Second Amendment rights by saying criminals have to go through a background check before they can buy that weapon or straw purchasers and trafficker can't be stemming their guns straight into these communities."

"But the NRA doesn't believe that," Gregory interrupted. "The NRA does not agree."

"This is not about the NRA!" Gillibrand exclaimed. "This is about families! This is about America! Seventy-percent of NRA members like the background check bill, like the straw purchase bill. They even support things like assault weapons ban."

"So if you're talking about people and if you're talking about America and what Americans want, Americans want these reforms. We just saw that mother who lost her child, you cannot do nothing in the face of that tragedy!"

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Texas Sen. John Cornyn (R) on Sunday said that he opposed a bill to close the so-called gun show loophole and expand background checks to Internet gun sales because only better mental health laws will ensure that the Newtown mass shooting victims "did not die in vain."

"In my meeting with the Sandy Hook families, they told me that -- and of course, who wouldn't have sympathy and empathy for these people who have suffered a terrible loss -- but what they told me is that they wanted to make sure their loved one did not die in vain, that something good would come out of this," Cornyn told Fox News host Chris Wallace. "And so I think -- that's why I'm focused like a laser on the mental health component."

"But forgive me, sir," Wallace interrupted. "They are focused on tougher gun control. Specifically, the background check."

"Well for example, [Newtown shooter] Adam Lanza stole his mother's guns," Cornyn explained. "A background check would not have stopped that problem, that incident. A background check should have stopped James Holmes in Tucson, it should have stopped the Virginia Tech shooter."

"In other words, I think the mental health issue is the common element that we ought to be focused on, and I think we can do some good things," the Texas Republican added. "But I'm not for symbolism over substance. I think we can't just pat ourselves on the back and say we're going to pass some enhanced penalties for trafficking or other issues or background checks when they don't really go to solve the problems that cause these terrible tragedies."

Cornyn pointed out that the bipartisan legislation proposed by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Pat Toomey (R-PA) would not have prevented any of the four most recent mass shootings.

"The [Newtown] parents say that doesn't matter," Wallace noted.

"Well, what matters to me is that we not just engage in a symbolic act and pat ourselves on the back and say we've done something good and left the problem unsolved," Cornyn insisted. "I would like to try to solve the problem by focusing on the common element of these recent tragedies, which is the mental health issue."

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Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) says that he would like to weaken existing gun control laws with any new legislation by decreasing the number of background checks required for people who apply for concealed carry permits in multiple states.

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace asked Rubio if his filibuster of a bill to expand background checks to include gun shows and Internet sales meant that he would also vote against the final bipartisan legislation.

"Well to be fair, I haven't read it in its totality, but I can tell you this, I am very skeptical of any plan that deals with the Second Amendment because invariably these gun laws end up impeding on the rights of people to bear arms who are law abiding and do nothing to keep criminals from buying them," the Florida Republican opined. "Criminals don't care what the law is."

"You have supported background checks in the Florida legislature," Wallace pointed out.

"Yeah," Rubio replied. "But those background checks in Florida are for people who have concealed weapons permits. If you have a concealed weapons permit, you do background check. I have no problem with that."

"But are they going to honor that in all 50 states? If someone goes to another state to buy a gun, do I have to undergo another background check or will my concealed weapons permit be de facto proof that I am not a criminal? These are the sorts of things that I hope we'll talk about."

According to The Washington Post, gun rights lobbyists and pro-gun lawmakers are hoping to weaken existing gun laws by amending a background checks bill in the Senate.

"Most worrisome to those who advocate new gun limits is an expected amendment that would achieve one of the National Rifle Association’s biggest goals: a 'national reciprocity' arrangement, in which a gun owner who receives a permit to carry a concealed weapon in any one state would then be allowed to do that anywhere in the country," the Post's Karen Tumulty and Ed O’Keefe wrote on Friday.

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The NRA's National School Shield Task Force chair, Asa Hutchinson may have finally conceded, after being badgered by Fox host Chris Wallace that he might be willing to go along with more background checks on gun sales at gun shows or over the Internet, but he was still being just as unreasonable as his cohort when it came to doing the checks on other types of private sales.

Take the word gun every time it's used here and replace it with the word car in Hutchinson's response.

WALLACE: Even if the NRA is right and we have had Wayne LaPierre on the show and he says, look, if a bad guy wants a gun, he's going to find a way to get a gun. The fact is 1.9 million sales, as I say, have been blocked. Why not make it as hard as possible for people to get their hands on a gun who have this history of either a criminal record or mental illness?

HUTCHINSON: Well, if you take those statistics at face value then the current system in place has been effective in blocking people who are not entitled to obtain a firearm from getting one. So, that's effective. Now, the question is, do you want to expand that system from where it is right now.

And I think in general concept, Americans, everybody would like to see effective background checks so that criminals do not have access to firearms.

But as a practical matter -- and I read the bill last night, if you are a farmer, 30 miles from town and you want to transfer a shotgun to a neighbor, you've got to go 30 miles into town, find the federal licensed firearm dealer, fill out the paperwork, pay the fee, have the background check and then you have a responsibility to keep those records for inspection by the government and that's a huge burden on citizens.

So, my look at that is, I don't know whether that's going to pass or not, but it's not going to address the problem of safety in schools. I'm not a spokesman for the NRA on this topic. I'm expressing my views but I want to look at things that work and keep children safe.

Yeah, what a terrible "burden" to keep from selling a gun to someone who shouldn't have one. I wonder what else he thinks those farmers would refuse to do if it required them driving more than 30 miles?

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This is really pitiful by even Fox's standards. As Rachel Maddow noted in the clip below where she responded to this segment that aired on Megyn Kelly's America Live this Thursday, it seems Fox is hoping to fool their blind viewers, because anyone who actually watched the recent ad being run by Mayors Against Illegal Guns would be able to tell that the man in the ad was not aiming his gun at the children in the background.

Here's more via Media Matters: Fox Analyst's Attack On Gun Safety Ad Requires Lack Of Depth Perception:

Fox News is continuing their effort to rebut a TV ad calling for stronger gun laws by falsely claiming it shows a man pointing a gun at children.

Fox News digital politics editor Chris Stirewalt criticized a recent ad produced by Mayors Against Illegal Guns that features a man with a shotgun calling for expanding the background check system, claiming that the man had the gun "sort of pointing back at the kids" who are playing behind him. Laughing, Stirewalt claimed that this allegedly unsafe behavior was "too hilarious" given that the ad's title is "Responsibility," adding, "I don't think too many Arkansans will be convinced that these people know what they are talking about."

In fact, as video from the ad Fox aired during the segment makes clear, the man in the ad is not pointing his shotgun in the direction of the children.

Stirewalt also joined several other conservative media figures in falsely claiming that the man in the ad had "his finger on the trigger" in an unsafe manner. But as Media Matters has documented, this is a false claim that critics are making based on a misunderstanding of where the trigger is on the firearm.

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This was a nice change of pace, watching a Republican get shot down for their fearmongering on the air: ABC Journalist Calls Out Karl Rove: ‘Stop Scaring People’ About Background Checks:

During a heated debate about gun regulations on Sunday morning, ABC News’ Terry Moran accused Karl Rove of using “Orwellian” language to scare people about background checks, noting that the federal government is not seeking to confiscate guns but rather keep them out of the hands of criminals and people who are mentally ill. [...]

The proposals currently being drafted would require a background check on all gun purchases including those by private sellers while exempting family and temporary transfers. In some of the drafts being circulated, private dealers would have to maintain records for all private sales, while other exempt non-commercial private sales from record keeping. None of the bills would maintain a national gun registry, which is already illegal under current law. But the record keeping provision is important, advocates claim, to ensure that the checks are being properly conducted.

A recent Quinnipiac University poll found that 88 percent of Americans, including 85 percent of gun owners, believe “those purchasing firearms at private sales and gun shows should undergo a background check.”

Full transcript below the fold.

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A Fox News guest on Tuesday warned that a Democratic plan to expand gun background checks would allow the Ku Klux Klan to control black people and keep firearms out of the hands of women who had an abortion.

Conservative columnist Star Parker told Fox News host Sean Hannity that she had created a web advertisement linking KKK lynchings to gun control because "the Democrats in the Senate are insistent on passing background check laws."

"I thought it appropriate to remind Americans that we've been here before," she explained. "How is it that 5 percent of the population, the KKK -- six million people in a country of more than 100 million -- how is it that 5 percent were able to wreak havoc over 4 million new citizens, the former slaves? And one of the ways is because they systematically -- the Democrats in power, the Democrats in political power in the South -- systematically passed gun control laws in black code so that blacks would not be able to exercise their right to bear arms."

"Do you think that is the motive of some people now?" Hannity wondered.

"Come on, these are same Democrats that gave us Obamacare," Parker insisted. "Let me tell you something about this background check discussion that we don't get to ask about, how do we know what those qualifiers are going to be?"

"Because they're saying if you've had any mental problem in your background, well, does that mean that their going to ask questions about abortion?" she added. "Because people who have had abortion, according to studies, have a tendency to have mental challenges later on."

As Media Matters noted on Tuesday, a 2008 American Psychological Association task force found "no credible evidence" that "having a single abortion causes mental health problems."