A chilling advertisement pushing stricter gun control will air for the first time on cable television this week, in the wake of the one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary shootings.
The advertisement, backed by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America and Mayors Against Illegal Guns, shows students and adults with heads bowed in observance of a moment of silence for the 20 children and six adults murdered in Newton Conn. on Dec. 14, 2012. A clock ticks in the background for 60 seconds, while another shot of a person carrying a duffle bag holding what looks like a firearm appears. The suspected shooter opens the door of the building, then walks inside.
"But with 26 more school shootings since that day," the narrator states, "Ask yourself: Is silence what America needs right now?"
The group Moms Demand Action was organized in the wake of the 2012 shooting, USA Today reported.
"American mothers will never again listen to those who say it's too soon after a senseless tragedy like Sandy Hook to discuss gun reform," founder Shannon Watts wrote in a statement. "And we will never again be silent about gun violence - that bell cannot be unrung. Over the past year, we have grieved the loss of too many victims and witnessed too much inaction by our elected officials."
The video was posted on YouTube on Wednesday. The organization met for a press conference the following day, according to USA Today.
Despite some local law enforcement and state-level legislation tightening up on gun control, federal laws concerning firearms have largely remained unchanged. A bid to widen background checks administered to people applying for gun licenses was stopped in the Senate earlier in 2013.
Moms Demand Action said they intend on pushing stricter gun control laws on both current members of Congress and congressional hopefuls running in the 2014 election.
