Mass. Senate hopeful refers to Newtown in campaign ad

Catalina Camia | USA TODAY

Democratic Rep. Ed Markey specifically mentions the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., in a new TV ad for his Senate campaign in Massachusetts.

In his commercial, Markey criticizes Republican Gabriel Gomez for opposing an assault weapons ban. The narrator in the ad says Gomez, a businessman making his first bid for elected office, is "against banning high-capacity magazines like the ones used in the Newtown school shooting."

Twenty children and six adults died at Sandy Hook Elementary School in the Dec. 14 massacre. The events at Newtown sparked a push for new gun-control legislation, but the Senate rejected a measure last month to expand background checks on gun purchasers.

The ad narrator says Markey has taken on the National Rifle Association, which has fought strongly against the gun proposals in Congress.

Gomez fired back at Markey. "I guess after 37 years in Congress you lose your sense of decency," he said in a statement. "Exploiting a tragedy for political gain is sick."

Markey, a member of Congress since 1976, and Gomez are vying in a June 25 special election to fill the seat formerly held by secretary of State John Kerry.

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