Gun control groups launch ads marking Newtown anniversary

Two major gun control groups have released a hard-hitting video ad calling for action one year after a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

The ads show elementary school children standing in a classroom as the room’s clock ticks, and switches to other venues showing people putting their heads down in silence. 

{mosads}“On December 14^th, we’ll have a moment of silence for Newtown,” a narrator says as the clock continues to tick.

“But with 26 more school shootings since that day. … Ask yourself, is silence what America needs right now?” the narrator states. 

“Speak out now,” concludes the 60-second ad.

Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns created the ad. They also released a shorter 30-second version. 

Moms Demand Action is leading a campaign to gather mothers in more than 35 states to honor the victims of last year’s mass shooting.  

Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people in Newtown’s Sandy Hook School, including 20 children and six school employees. He then killed himself. 

The ads were first posted Wednesday — the same day recordings of calls to emergency dispatchers from that day’s tragedy were released to the public.

In the wake of the shooting last December, mostly Democrats in Congress led an effort to tighten gun regulations earlier this year.  

A bill sponsored by Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Pat Toomey (Pa.) that would have expanded criminal and mental health background checks failed in the upper chamber.

Democrats like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) tried to reinvigorate the debate after September’s Navy Yard shooting, but it has since gained little to no traction on Capitol Hill.