Connecticut Democratic Rep. Elizabeth Esty told attendees at an LGBTQ Pride Fund event Wednesday that using the term “gun control” turns off 15 percent of men, the Connecticut Post reported.

The preferred term should be “gun safety,” Esty said.

“Believe me, in the U.S. Congress, we can’t afford to lose 15 percent of any constituency, much less a little less than half of the public,” she said.

She made the comments about a week before the anniversary of the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando.

The Democratic congressional delegation from Connecticut has spearheaded many of the gun restriction efforts in Washington after the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting where the attacker killed 20 children and 6 adults.

Esty is the co-sponsor of the Gun Violence Restraining Order Act, which would allow a family member or law enforcement official to seek a court order to block someone from purchasing a firearm.

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