LaPierre, NRA: Blame Everything but Guns
A week after the bloody massacre at Sandy Hook - where the bodies of first-graders were ripped to shreds by the bullets of a madman - the NRA finally broke it's silence.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre held a "press conference (with no questions) which can be best described as confrontational.
Judging by the "presser", which devolved into a 30 minute pro-gun call-to-arms rally, we learned that in the estimation of the NRA, blame for the tragedy lies with schools for not being well enough armed, hurricanes & terrorists (really), violent video games, and a conspiracy between politicians and the media (for demonizing assault weapons by calling them machine guns...poor, poor babies).
After a week of silence from the NRA, after a week of Republican politicians waiting in the weeds to be fed their talking points from the NRA, after a week of plying opossum by denying media requests...
The NRA chose to use this "opportunity" of the disaster in Newtown... to call for more guns! Surprise! The NRA has decided that the problem with gun violence, is that we don't have enough guns.
The NRA is calling for a National School Shield Program. LaPierre demanded that Congress "immediately" fund local communities to put guns in every school with half a million more law enforcement officers.
Following a week spent in a defensive crouch, the NRA responds to the disgusting act of domestic terrorism in Connecticut by proposing exactly nothing in the way of gun safety. Not one new idea in the wake of this disaster. Not one iota of compromise.
"The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun, is a good guy with a gun." - LaPierre.
How about we do what we can to prevent the bad guy from getting a hold of that gun in the first is place?
Instead of offering sensible solutions, the NRA continues it's eternal intransigence. They actually chose to place blame with fake guns in movies and video games, while absolving the actual weapons used to carry out the violence.
The NRA has proven once more that they are a radical organization concerned only with the welfare of the gun manufacturers. Once again, the NRA has shown that they are a special interest group which values gun manufacturers over the safety of the children of their 4 million members. Surprise!
It's time for NRA members to stand up for their families and stand up to the radical leadership of the NRA, and demand sensible gun safety for the sake of their children.
The "right" to carry an assault rifle with a 30 round magazine does not trump the right of our children to graduate from first grade.
The Second Amendment does not protect the "right" to purchase a firearm without a background check and gun safety course. The Second Amendment does not protect the "right" to keep it to yourself when a weapon is lost, stolen, or found. The Second Amendment does not protect the "right" to own a sawed off shotgun or portable surface to air missile system (MANPADS).
The First Amendment does not protect the "right" to yell "FIRE!" in a crowded theater or possess child pornography.
Our rights are not absolute.
12/21/12
