On Wednesday, the National Rifle Association (NRA) released a brief statement that on Friday they’d hold a press conference. During this press conference the public would be reassured that the group is committed to offering practical approaches to ending such tragedies. The association had garnered heavy criticism over the weekend after the Sandy Hook shootings. The NRA had not released any statements. They usually do after a mass shooting. So it was a bid odd they were silent.
Much to no surprise (at least not mine) the NRA further conveyed their delusional and warped assessment of what needed to occur to prevent future mass shootings. They essentially blamed everyone but themselves. They blamed the media for glamorizing a culture of violence. They blamed video games, movies and television shows for showcasing violence to young adults. They blamed our health care system for not properly dealing with mental illness in the country.
Wayne LaPierre, NRA Executive Vice President, stated: “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” He called on Congress “to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school in this nation.” Their solution of course would entail the use of more weapons. The NRA believes that arming teachers would have prevented the death of 20 children. They think that it would dissuade future attacks. Why I am not surprised that an association that supports the proliferation of guns would be advocating the use of even more guns? Maybe it could be the inherent conflict of interest.
In reality you never know what could have happened if teachers were armed at Sandy Hook. For example, suppose a student were to get a hold of a gun and shoot another. Who’s liable? The school? The teacher who uses the gun? When a situation of that nature occurs you really never can be prepared for what you will do. Most teachers are great people, but that doesn’t mean that some may not also suffer from some form of mental illness. What happens if you train a teacher and he/she snaps one day and shoots their schoolchildren or goes home and shoots their family? I also think it is terribly unfair and even disrespectful to suggest that arming teachers somehow would have definitively changed the outcome.
I’ve read many gun-enthusiasts state that people like me are somehow politicizing the tragedy to push our agenda. It’s funny how it wasn’t politicizing when they used 9/11 to push two wars and vast increases in homeland security and defense spending (I’m not saying we should or shouldn’t have done that). When the Titanic sank was it politicizing when people suggested hey maybe we should put more lifeboats on these ships?
Legislative material arises when there is something to correct. It is the nature of things. Otherwise, why change anything if it is working out so wonderfully.
I think the NRA is a joke. Their delusional comments today only prove it. I never thought we’d hear substantive suggestions from the group. It would be like expecting our Congress to pass a bill before the last minute. It just isn’t going to happen; at least not while people continue to support nonsensical parties simply because it is tradition.
I find the NRA’s statements pretty lame.
