Senator Claims ‘Gun Violence Epidemic,’ Suggests ‘204 Mass Shootings’ this Year

On August 16, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) claimed America is in the midst of a “gun violence epidemic” and suggested there were “204” mass shootings during “the first 204 days of 2015” alone.

Markey subsequently wants to set aside “$10 million a year” that will go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in order to study “gun violence prevention.”

According to the Milford Daily News, Markey said, “Our most vulnerable population, our children, suffer the most” from Congress’ refusal to pass more gun control. He did not mention that those children—like the children at Sandy Hook Elementary—are most often sitting in a gun-free zone where Democrat policies have denied teachers the ability to carry a gun with which to defend children. But he did mention the NRA, referring to the gun rights group as “special interests” who “don’t want Americans to understand this public health epidemic.”

Markey bragged on his support for banning “assault weapons” in the 1990s, but he did not mention the fact that the ban had little to no impact on crime. Yet he said banning “assault weapons” and “high capacity” magazines would be a necessary first step in addressing the “public health epidemic.”

Ironically, Markey cited the Charleston attack as proof of the need for more gun control, but he did not mention that the alleged gunman in that attack used a handgun, not an “assault weapon.” And he argued that expanding background checks to cover more gun sales is necessary, but he did not mention that the alleged Lafayette gunman John Russell Houser passed a background check for his gun, as did Muhammad Youssef Abdulazeez (Chattanooga), Elton Simpson and Nadir Soofi (Garland), Jared and Amanda Miller (Las Vegas), Elliot Rodger (Santa Barabara), Ivan Lopez (Fort Hood 2014), James Holmes (Aurora theater), Jared Loughner (Tucson), and the majority of public attackers during the past 15 years.

Markey did admit that “many killings are carried out by criminals with illegal guns that are stolen from law-abiding citizens who purchased them legally,” and he claims this shows a need for more gun control on law-abiding citizens via trigger lock requirements.

Follow AWR Hawkins on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.