Actor Jim Carrey, who starred in "Dumb and Dumber." (AP)

(CNSNews.com) – Actor Jim Carrey said Saturday that anyone who has bought an “assault rifle” since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School retain little that is “worth protecting.”

“[Anyone] who would run out to buy an assault rifle after the Newtown massacre has very little left in their body or soul worth protecting,” said Carrey on Twitter, Feb. 2.

Gun sales have soared since the massacre in Newtown, Conn., which left 26 dead, including 20 first graders, as politicians have proposed stricter gun control legislation. Data released by the FBI showed a record number of background checks performed for gun purchases in December, increasing in 48 of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in 2012.



President Barack Obama appointed a task force led by Vice President Joe Biden to recommend gun-control measures in the wake of the shooting, and administered 23 executive orders to address the issue. Obama is also pushing for legislation, including a new “assault weapons” ban and a national federal database for gun owners.

Jim Carrey's tweet about assault rifles and the Sandy Hook shooting. (Twitter)

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) has sponsored an “assault weapons” ban that prohibits the sale of 157 weapons and limits the amount of ammunition-magazines to 10 rounds, though she acknowledged it is an “uphill fight.”

Feinstein's bill would ban AR-15s, one of the most popular rifles in America, and one of the weapons used in the Sandy Hook shooting. Prices for the rifle have surged since the shooting, with gun sellers reporting a huge demand for the weapon and its ammunition. The AR-15 is a semiautomatic gun, firing one bullet with each pull of the trigger. The manufacture of certain fully-automatic guns has been banned since 1986, and with similar laws from 1968 to 1934.

Fully automatic weapons made prior to 1986 and registered with the federal government can be purchased but these sales are heavily regulated. Carrey, 51, the Canadian-born star of Dumb and Dumber and Bruce Almighty, is not the first Hollywood celebrity to call for more gun control. More than 50 celebrities and artists appeared in an ad for “Demand a Plan to End Gun Violence” in December.