Rep. Claudia Tenney defended her comments, claiming the media and liberals are trying to “demonize” gun owners. | Mike Groll/AP Photo GOP congresswoman, without evidence, says mass shooters 'end up being Democrats'

Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-N.Y.), offering no evidence, told a New York radio host that many mass shooters are Democrats and that the media are overlooking the story.

Tenney, a gun rights advocate, made the comments during a discussion Wednesday with WGDJ host Fred Dicker about the Parkland, Florida, high school shooting, which left 17 people dead.


"Obviously, there’s a lot of politics in it. It's interesting that so many of these people that commit the mass murders end up being Democrats," Tenney said. "But the media doesn't talk about that."

Tenney said she fears legal gun owners will be “targeted” following the shooting, even though she claimed their demographic had “the least amount of crimes than virtually any other demographic.” Dicker replied that “they tend to vote Republican” and “tend to be white.” Tenney laughed and agreed.

Police say the suspect in the Florida shooting, Nikolas Cruz, 19, bought the AR-15-style rifle used in the attack legally a year ago. Though a conservative website portrayed him as holding extreme leftist views, there is no evidence that's true.

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The interview drew backlash from numerous Democratic lawmakers.

State Rep. Anthony Brindisi, who is looking to unseat Tenney, said her comments were “a new low.”

“First, @RepTenney said Democrats are un-American. Now this,” Brindisi tweeted Wednesday. “This toxic rhetoric is shameful and a new low even for Ms. Tenney. Inserting politics into a national tragedy is beyond the pale & disgusting. She should apologize now to spare our region any more national embarrassment.”

Tenney defended her comments, claiming the media and liberals are trying to “demonize” gun owners.

"I am fed up with the media and liberals attempting to politicize tragedies and demonize law-abiding gun owners and conservative Americans every time there is a horrible tragedy," Tenney said, according to a CNN report. "While we know the perpetrators of these atrocities have a wide variety of political views, my comments are in response to a question about the failure to prosecute illegal gun crime. I will continue to stand up for law-abiding citizens who are smeared by anti-gun liberal elitists."

The National Rifle Association endorsed Tenney in 2016, even though she had blasted the organization two years prior for putting “politics over principles.”

