WASHINGTON – In honor of the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School, the NRA today delivered AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifles to their friends in Congress who worked to ensure that meaningful gun control legislation was not enacted this past year.

“We know how hard it was for these brave men and women to stand firm and torpedo immensely popular gun control legislation in the wake of the mass murder of those kids in Connecticut last year,” said NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre. “Heck, the Manchin-Toomey bill was ridiculously popular, but they held firm and voted against it. So we’re thanking them by giving them guns.”

The Manchin-Tommey Amendment, which would have required background checks for gun purchases at gun shows and prohibited individuals listed in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System from purchasing a gun. The measure was favored by as much as 91% of the American public, but only received 54 “yes” votes in the Senate, failing to get the 60 votes necessary to overcome a Republican filibuster.

“This is really very thoughtful,” said Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), who has an ‘A’ rating from the NRA and has said that she does not believe that tightening gun laws will prevent mass shootings. “I’m right next door to Connecticut, and they’ve been very testy on gun rights all year. I’ll feel better knowing that if things get too uncomfortable, I’ve got one of these babies in the closet.”

“I can’t think of a more poignant gift to commemorate this sad day,” said Representative Candice Miller (R-MI), a strong gun rights advocate and also sports an ‘A’ rating from the NRA. “Just think how different things might have been if there had been a few of these lying around the school on that tragic day.”

“When I heard about those kids being gunned down, the first thought that came to my mind was, ‘Oh dear God, they’re going to introduce gun control legislation now,’” said LaPierre. “Thankfully, that nightmare did not come to pass, but we can’t let down our guard. If sprinkling a few AR-15s around the halls of Congress to show our gratitude convinces some other folks to give up on gun control, then so much the better.”