NRA Chief Blames Media, Calls For Armed Police In Schools
by Christine Stuart | Dec 21, 2012 2:59pm
(5) Comments | Commenting has expired
Posted to: Civil Liberties, Congress, Town News, Hartford, Public Safety, State Capitol
When it finally broke its silence Friday at a press conference in Washington, the head of the National Rifle Association blamed the media and violent video games for the Newtown massacre and then called for armed police officers in every school in the country.
Wayne LaPierre, NRA’s executive vice president and chief executive officer, said that promoting gun-free zones tells “every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.”
“Does anybody really believe the next Adam Lanza isn’t planning his attack on a school he’s already identified at this very moment?” LaPierre asked. “How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame — from a national media machine that rewards them with the wall-to-wall attention and sense of identity that they crave?”
Lanza is the gunman who blasted his way into the elementary school and killed 26 children and educators before taking his own life last week. Since the shooting, the NRA’s social media network had been silent until it announced on Tuesday that it would hold a press conference today.
No questions were allowed at the event, which was interrupted twice by protesters who shouted things like it’s the “NRA that are killing our children” and “the NRA has blood on its hands.”
LaPierre continued with his scripted remarks as soon as the protesters were escorted outside of the room at the Willard Hotel.
“Rather than face their own moral failings the media demonize gun owners,” LaPierre continued.
After rattling off a handful of violent video games, including one called “Kindergarten Killers,” LaPierre said media conglomerates are competing with each other “to shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society by bringing an ever-more-toxic mix of reckless behavior and criminal cruelty into our homes — every minute of every day of every month of every year.”
He went onto blame the federal government for not prosecuting enough gun crimes before detailing a national program to put armed police officers in every school.
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” LaPierre said. “Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away . . . or a minute away?”
He speculated whether Sandy Hook Principal Dawn Hochsprung would be alive today if there was an armed police officer waiting to greet the gunman.
“Is the press and political class here in Washington so consumed by fear and hatred of the NRA and America’s gun owners that you’re willing to accept a world where real resistance to evil monsters is a lone, unarmed school principal left to surrender her life to shield the children in her care?” LaPierre said.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the NRA’s remarks are inadequate to address the situation.
“The NRA’s proposal for more armed guards in schools may be helpful in some instances, but it falls far short of the strong, serious, comprehensive action needed to stop the kind of horrific tragedy that occurred one week ago in Newtown,” Blumenthal said in a statement.
In Connecticut, which has some of the toughest gun laws in the nation, some state lawmakers believe they can do more. Nationally, Connecticut’s Congressional delegation feels the same way.
“The American people are demanding real change to make our nation safe, and the NRA’s proposals fail to offer any real protection from violence,” Blumenthal said. “NRA members in Connecticut are writing and calling me to say that the NRA does not speak for them, and that they want real change.”
Exactly what that real change will look like is unknown at the moment.
President Barack Obama, who spoke at an interfaith vigil in Newtown last Sunday, charged a task force to give him “concrete proposals” by the beginning of January. The task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden met for the first time Thursday.
In Hartford, lawmakers have already started drafting legislation to ban high capacity magazines and imposing a sales tax on bullets.
The various independent groups which make up the gun lobby in Connecticut have offered other suggestions, such as arming school personnel. They have scoffed at proposals to impose tougher gun laws or restrictions on ammunition.
“If police have an 18-round handgun, why shouldn’t the civilian who is trying to defend his property?” Robert Crook, head of the Connecticut Sportsmen’s Coalition, said Thursday during a panel discussion hosted by WNPR and CPTV.
New Haven Mayor John DeStefano issued a statement calling the NRA “tone deaf” for its remarks Friday.
“Rather than contributing to the national conversation on the easy availability of high-powered weapons, the NRA ignored the overarching issue of gun violence in our communities and instead blamed everyone else - the media, the schools and now are following a line of logic that would have us arm our teachers,” DeStefano said as president of the National League of Cities.
Tags: NRA, shooting, Newtown, Richard Blumenthal, Wayne LaPierre, Second Amendment, video games, violence, guns, dh
(5) Comments
posted by: AntonK | December 21, 2012 7:43pm
Rather then fulfill its mandate to serve as the watchdog of the public, the mainstream media today has sold its soul to ideological socialism and commercial self interest. That’s why a news channel which airs news segments demonizing AR15s and claiming “pass an AWB for our law enforcement” doesn’t see the problem with playing a violent action movie like Heat right behind it showing bad guys using AR15s to kill cops.
The media’s created a culture where everyone is just one ultra-violent massacre away from cultural immortality. Want to be instantly remembered forever? Take a weapon and kill lots of people in America, the media says. We’ll put your name all over the place, blare your acts across HDTV screens constantly, and use your act of filth to make you famous. The shooter in CT would never be known to any of us if he lived a normal life, but because of his vile crimes his name will be forever enshrined in our culture.
posted by: stellablu122 | December 22, 2012 8:01am
LaPierre has now becoming a verb meaning totally out of touch.
As I am sure what will happen on this thread is all the NRA/ militia loving folks will be all crying about how all us crazy liberals want to take away their guns.
That is simply not the case. If you want to be a legal, responsible, and safe gun owner then you will have all your guns with maybe a few reasonable exceptions.
Do you need to militarized automatic guns with 30 - 100 shots clips to use at the gun range?
Or to shoot Bambi?
No is what must reasonable people will say.
Is it an infringement of your Second Amendment rights to have consistent gun laws nationwide, close the gun show loophole, better known as a tupperware party for criminals, and prevent criminals from legally buying guns in southern and western states because of their lax gun laws and then bring them back illegally to Connecticut to sell on the streets.
No that is not crazy talk.
Nor is it unreasonable or an infringement of your 2nd Amendment rights. It is just what a civil society, with 300 million guns, will need to do to reduce gun related violence, deaths, and crime in our country.
Plus if you think your .223 Bushmaster will save your sorry white butt from a drone you are both a fool and clueless.
That is the terrorist industrial complex folks and most of you have taken this expansion of government as true patriots.
Not a peep from ya.
If you want to defend this country vote and become active against the forces of evil and special interest in this country who in many ways want to militarized all aspects of our society and further reduce our liberties.
I hate to say it but the NRA supports this version of the future more that any other group.
Plus it would could cost billions to put a ” police” officer or better yet how about a private security officer from Halliburton in every school?
I am sure they would love that and are probably already lobbying for it.
No thanks.
This is a government for the people by the people.
Finally where is all your libertarian outrage against NDAA or gasp…the Patriot Act?
Do any of you even remember that?
These are the real threats against our liberties and many of you think having a cache of weapons protects you from that?
Wake up!
It is simply a distraction to give you a false sense of ” security.”
posted by: BrianO | December 22, 2012 11:45am
So now the slow trek towards the status quo commences.
The cacophony of special interests rises to point fingers at someone else. Truth be told, we are violent and the moneyed interests are simply too powerful. We are hearing the same re-cycled arguments: This is not an issue about gun control. We need more police, more guns, and more strength. Sell fear. It is always purchased. Video games are to blame, breakdown in the family, Marxism, no religion in schools. Have we completely lost the ability to apply common sense? In America, when money is involved, yes. Always follow the money. Money is tied to guns, entertainment, law enforcement, munitions…fear, fear, fear.
A survivalist Armageddon fearing parent taught her emotionally disturbed child that the end of the world was coming. She taught him how to use automatic weapons and she made these weapons easily accessible. He took these guns and shot his Mother in the head and killed 28 people, riddling their bodies with large bullets. 20 of these people were babies.
How in god’s name is this not about gun control? Are we these easily distracted?
