Posted on 12/23/2012 6:57:23 PM PST by E. Pluribus Unum
AFP - The NRA, the most powerful gun lobby in the United States, ruled out any support Sunday for greater regulation of firearms or ammunition magazines after the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre.
Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association, said planned legislation to outlaw military-style assault weapons and large-capacity magazines was "phony" and would not work.
He repeated the NRA's call to place an armed guard in every school and argued that prosecuting criminals and fixing the mental health system, rather than gun control, were the solutions to America's mass shooting epidemic.
On December 14, a disturbed local man, 20-year-old Adam Lanza, killed his mother in their Newtown, Connecticut home before embarking on a horrific spree at a local elementary school.
He burst into Sandy Hook elementary and shot dead 20 six- and seven-year old children and six adults with a military-style assault rifle before taking his own life with a handgun as police closed in.
The bloodshed reopened a national debate on gun laws.
President Barack Obama said he would support a new bill to ban assault rifles and put Vice President Joe Biden in charge of a panel looking at a wide range of other measures, from school security to mental health.
Democratic Senator Diane Feinstein has pledged to table a bill on January 3 that would ban at least 100 military-style semi-automatic assault weapons, and would curb the transfer, importation and the possession of such arms.
"I think that is a phony piece of legislation, and I do not believe it will pass for this reason," LaPierre told NBC's "Meet the Press." "It is all built on lies that have been found out."
"We don't think it works and we're not going to support it," he said.
The NRA points to the fact that the 1999 shooting at Columbine High School, when 12 kids and a teacher were gunned down by two senior students, occurred despite similar legislation being in force at the time.
"I don't think it will (work). I keep saying it, and you just won't accept it: it's not going to work, it hasn't worked. Dianne Feinstein had her (previous) ban and Columbine occurred," LaPierre said.
America has suffered an epidemic of gun violence over the last three decades including 62 mass shooting incidents since 1982. The vast majority of weapons used have been semi-automatic weapons obtained legally by the killers.
There were an estimated 310 million non-military firearms in the United States in 2009, roughly one per citizen, and people in America are 20 times more likely to be killed by a gun than someone in another developed country.
The NRA has been in the crosshairs since the Sandy Hook massacre and took the unusual step on Friday of holding a press conference and speaking out on the tragedy.
But rather than come out in support of limited gun control measures, the lobby -- which retains a powerful influence over politicians, especially from rural districts where gun owners are the norm -- demanded that armed police be deployed to every school in the country.
LaPierre reaffirmed that position on Sunday and launched a fierce defense of gun owners' rights, which he portrayed as being imperiled by rich folk in cities, elite politicians and a hysterical media.
"The average guy in the country values his freedom, doesn't believe the fact that he can own a gun is part of the problem and doesn't like the media and all these high-profile politicians blaming him," he said.
Well, maybe not the first time.
The only thing to stop a bad person with a gun, is a good person with a gun.
My new tagline
I would have a lot more interest in addressing any deficiencies in the present law if a single point were in any way related in a concrete way with the horrible massacre at Sandy Hook school, but sadly what I am seeing is a hate-fest and a feeding frenzy.
And here is a pertinent fact that we must proclaim loudly:
“Over the last fifty years, with only one single exception (Gabby Giffords), every single mass shooting event with more than four casualties has taken place in a place where guns were supposedly not allowed.”
see:
http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/an-opinion-on-gun-control/
The NRA addressed this fact. They are the only party to do so.
ping
Actually, Second Amendment Sisters has been addressing these “gun free zones” (aka killing fields) for a long time, now.
We’re certainly not as large as the NRA, and many of our members and staff also belong to the NRA, but we are trying to do our part to get the message across.
You are correct. The context of my remark was the current media group-think frenzy.
There were 358 rifle murders in the US in 2010, and over 20,000,000 “assault weapon” rifles and who knows how many Garands and so forth. Yeah we need rifle control bad!
Americans Won’t Give Up Their Guns, Law Or Not!
Of course I’m correct—I’m founder and president of SAS—LOL!
Just in case anybody here doesn’t know, SAS was born right here on FR.
You’re all invited to go to our website and check us out—and join us—yes, we do take guy members...and have quite a few of them.
Suppose the Japs bombed Pearl Harbor, and we decided not to use our guns against them. Instead we stand up onour shores with a STERN LOOK OF RIGHTEOUS INDIGNATION on our faces to shame them into being good Japanese. What language would we be speaking now?
PUT GUARDS IN THE SCHOOLS! REOPEN THE CLOSED MENTAL HOSPITALS!
David Gregory on ‘Meet the Depressed’ proved that laws banning high capacity magazines do not work. He was waving an AR15 (30 round capacity) magazine around during this morning’s show (while arguing with the NRA president). He violated three laws for DC as his show is taped there and should be fined $1000 and imprisoned for one year.
What an idiot!
Molon Labe!!
Selling the wholesale boxing up of nuts to the USSC will be harder, if it turns out (as I suspect) to require 1000 nuts to be boxed up to stop one shooting.
Guns stop guns, unarmed people only stop bullets.
Thanks foe the ping.
Not the entire guy?
LOL!
I’ll put it this way: We have a lot of members in our organization who are men.
Had me concerned for a moment. ;)
Prove it, you lying leftist scum.
Not to worry—all if okay.
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