Markey calls for assault weapons ban

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) used the anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre to call for major gun control reforms.

“Enough is enough. This sweeping epidemic of gun violence is not pre-ordained; it’s preventable,” Markey said on the one-year anniversary Saturday. “We should use this anniversary to recommit ourselves to ending the scourge of gun violence.”

{mosads}On Dec. 14, 2012, a gunman killed 20 first-graders and six educators at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.

Earlier this year, the Senate tried to pass gun control legislation that would have required background checks for all gun sales, but Republicans blocked an up-or-down vote on the bill after the National Rifle Association (NRA) strongly lobbied against the bill.

Markey called for even more reforms, saying 30,000 Americans are shot and killed each year.

“We need a ban on assault weapons,” Markey said. “We need to stop the flow of high magazine clips, like the ones used in Aurora and Newtown. We need background checks on all gun sales, including private sales and purchases made at gun shows. And we must make access to mental health services a priority, to provide care to those who need it before tragedies occur.”

On Friday, another school shooting occurred in Centennial, Colo.

Markey said it would take “army of activists to restore sanity to our gun laws.”

Some Republicans argue that gun control reforms would violate the Second Amendment.