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D.C. (NewsDakota.com) New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has launched a nationwide million advertising campaign with the intention of persuading members of Congress to alter their stance on the issue of gun legislation.

Among those members of Congress is North Dakota U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp. Heitkamp released the following statement on Tuesday afternoon 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.