After a rousing anti-bloody flag waving warm-up by the new primary public face of the NRA — Dana Loesch — NRA Veep Wayne LaPierre broke his employer’s radio silence on the spree killing at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School . . .
‘Mr. LaPierre also slated politicians and the mainstream media for their attacks on the NRA and, by extension, the Second Amendment. “Their goal is to eliminate the Second Amendment and . . . eradicate all individual freedoms.”
Mr. LaPierre then turned his attention to “practical solutions” to school shooting.
The NRA jefe called for hardening schools, including “armed security.” To those who oppose the idea, he sarcastically suggested that they remove armed security from politicians and Hollywood’s elite. And . . . that’s about it, what-we-should-do-school shooting-wise.
Mr. LaPierre also advised that concerned schools contact the NRA to get advice from its [ignored] School Shield Program. And moved his focus from arming schools to attacking the Democratic Party for rejecting capitalism and embracing “European style socialists” (a list of which earned expected boos and catcalls).
After praising law enforcement in general, Mr. LaPierre lambasted the FBI’s “rogue leadership” — without again referring to its failure to intercept spree killer Nikolas Cruz after receiving two specific tips on his intentions.
Mr. LaPierre claimed his organization “initiated” the national instant check system.
“It wouldn’t exist if it weren’t for the NRA,” he pronounced and reaffirmed the NRA’s support for “fixing” NICS (and presumably the bill of the same name). Without expanding it. (Go figure.)
At the same time, Mr. LaPierre warned that “we don’t want [NICs] to become a runaway train.” “That’s the challenge we as a free society face,” LaPierre cautioned, offering a vision of a government database used to restrict personal liberty. A database like . . NICS.
Mr. LaPierre defended the NRA’s decision to step outside of its Second Amendment remit, including lobbying efforts on behalf of the Republican Party.
“We will speak out louder and we will speak out stronger than we ever have before,” he promised. But no guns! “We are not talking about an armed resistance” to the socialist takeover of the U.S. political system, LaPierre assured, uh, someone.
Bottom line: Mr. LaPierre didn’t provide “the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a bad guy with a gun” sound byte for the national media to feast upon. Although he did repeat it as his parting shot (so to speak). “To stop a bad guy with a gun it takes a good guy with a gun.”