NRA blames everything except guns: Outdated video games, hurricanes and corporate media led to New Town
Only gun owners and gun lobbyists — who have spent years easing gun regulations across the country — were spared any responsibility.
By Igor Volsky
Think Progress/News Report
“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” Wayne LaPierre declared and urged Congress to “act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation.” The lobby will create a “National School Shield Program” that will help schools respond to attacks, led by former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR).
The National Rifle Association, the nation’s largest gun advocates lobby, attributed the shooting in Newtown, Conn., to “school free zones,” arguing that “genuine monsters” are attracted to schools because its administrators and teachers are not armed. “Politicians pass laws for gun free school zones, they issue press releases bragging about them,” NRA Executive Vice President LaPierre said. “And, in doing so, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.”
In a news conference repeatedly interrupted by protesters blaming the NRA for “killing our kids,” LaPierre shoveled out blame far and wide, going after reporters for glorifying killers like Adam Lanza, violent movies, video games, and music videos.
He tore into gun safety advocates for exploiting the tragedy for “political gain,” targeted President Obama for underfunding police initiatives in schools, and said that the media demonized “local gun owners” and spread “misinformation and dishonest thinking that only delay meaningful action and all but guarantee that the next violence is a new cycle away.” “Add another hurricane, terrorist attack, or some other natural of man-made disaster, and you’ve got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization,” he said.
Only gun owners and gun lobbyists — who have spent years easing gun regulations across the country — were spared any responsibility.
