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We’ve covered the “evil incarnate” initial reaction to the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) post-Sandy Hook slaughter press conference. To say that NRA Veep Wayne LaPierre’s suggestion of armed guards in every U.S. school has been received less than enthusiastically by the left-leaning media would be like saying that Gal Erez looks good with a rifle. My inbox is over-flowing with links to commentary ranging from antagonistic to personally threatening. And “news” stories suffused with opposition to “guns in schools” that somehow always end with a negative quote. Here’s a sampling of the coverage . . .

“This vision, straight out of the Wild West, is farcical. There are 132,000 elementary and secondary schools and 6,700 colleges in the nation to protect. Despite the NRA’s promise to train a volunteer militia, its members won’t have the judgment of police in making split-second decisions about when to shoot or back off. The NRA’s solution would probably result in more students killed in accidental shootings.” – The NRA’s extremist fantasy [via bostonglobe.com]

“To stop determined shooters from killing children anywhere, Dodge said, ‘we’d have to put fences up around our school parking lots, and we’d probably have to do the same around shopping malls and parks and everywhere kids go.’

That is not necessarily a bad idea, said Quinn of the school police officers’ association, who suggested there should be more police everywhere children congregate. ‘The way things are going now, it sure as heck couldn’t hurt,’ he said.

But Dodge argued for a different path — one that looks at school safety as a consequence of the larger problems with violence in America. ‘Isn’t it more straightforward to just get rid of the guns?'” – Arming Teachers, School Cops Could Cause More Harm Than Good, Experts Say [via huffingtonpost.com]

“‘Is this the answer? That America should become an armed camp?’ said Feinstein, who is sponsoring legislation to reinstate a ban on assault weapons. ‘I don’t think so, and I don’t think that’s the American dream.’

Democratic Sen.-elect Christopher Murphy of Connecticut, whose current congressional district encompasses Newtown, called LaPierre’s comments tone-deaf.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said if the NRA wants to be part of the national conversation about gun violence, it’s not doing itself any favors. ‘The NRA today in its approach will be irrelevant,’ he said, ‘because it can’t be a credible and constructive participant in this debate if it says the only acceptable solution is armed guards in schools.'” Democrats Slam NRA’s Response To School Shooting [via npr.org]

“Ernest Logan, president of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, called the N.R.A.’s plan ‘unbelievable and cynical.’

He said placing armed guards within schools would ‘expose our children to far greater risk from gun violence than the very small risk they now face.’ Officials in some districts that use armed security officers stressed that it was only part of a broader strategy aimed at reducing the risk of violence.

But Ben Kiser, superintendent of schools in Gloucester County, Va., where the district already has four police officers assigned to patrol schools, said it was just as important to provide mental health services to help struggling children and families.

‘What I’m afraid of,’ said Mr. Kiser, who is also president of the Virginia Association of School Superintendents, ‘is that we’re often quick to find that one perceived panacea and that’s where we spend our focus.’

In Newtown, Conn., the N.R.A.’s call for arming school guards generated considerable debate among parents and residents on Friday — much of it negative. Suzy DeYoung, a parenting coach who has one child in the local school system, said she thought many parents in town and around the country would object to bringing more guns onto school campuses.” N.R.A. Envisions ‘a Good Guy With a Gun’ in Every School [via nytimes.com]

“The growing outrage against the organization extends beyond school officials — even state Republican politicians are weary of eliminating school gun-free zones. Senate Minority Leader John McKinney (R), whose district includes Sandy Hook Elementary School, called the proposal ‘ill-timed.’ ‘I also don’t think his idea of undoing or repealing gun-free school zones is a good idea at all,’ he said. ‘I’ve always understood, and believe, that our Second Amendment is an integral part of our Constitution, and people should have the right to bear arms … but I think we should have a fair conversation in this country about what the limits to those rights are.’

Schools across the state are enacting greater security measures, but more guns aren’t on the agenda. Instead, districts are focusing on adding interior classroom door locks, expanding swipe-card access and requiring staff to wear photo identification.

Tom Moore, assistant superintendent for administration for West Hartford schools, told the Hartford Courant that his district ‘won’t be taking our advice on how to keep kids safe from the president of the NRA.’ He added, ‘I come from a family of hunters; I have four brothers who are hunters and members of the NRA. All I’ll be asking for for Christmas, after hearing Wayne LaPierre essentially blame school officials for the shootings, is for [my brothers] to resign from the NRA.'” Connecticut School Officials Blast NRA’s Reaction To Newtown [via thinkprogress.org]

 

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118 COMMENTS

  1. I haven’t seen this level of hysteria in the U.S. since the Vietnam War, and I’ve never seen this level of Yellow Journalism.

    This is the difference between them and us: all they want is to control everything, and all we want is to be left alone.

    I think a lot of people just want to be left alone, but it’s not going to happen. I was just watching an episode of “Alaska State Troopers,” and the narrator suggested that anti-government activities are on the rise in America. I’m not sure that’s true, but if it is, there’s no wondering why.

    I’ve always loved my country. Now, I’m not even sure that I like it.

    • I have a good friend in Canada, and for the first time I have actually been thinking that the future of her country is brighter than that of my own. I’m ashamed of how our fellow “Americans” are treating us as criminals.

    • Ralph,

      If we want to change things for the better, us gun owners need to take at least some of the responsibility in how we are perceived. We tend to be an exclusionary bunch who sees the world as , “us VS them”, regardless of the setting. Even on these boards, we beat each other up for the slightest difference in opinion. We also fail to drive the only real game in town as far as representation, the NRA, into delivering an updated and more encompassing message to the general public in a palatable manner. The image of the NRA is of a “good o’l boys” club and its an image well earned. And shooters tend to be VERY short sighted. We yell about smaller government, less intrusion in our lives, and then recommend a national data base for the mentally ill? An effort that will certainly require a bigger more invasive government.

      We better start realizing that today, perception is reality and we need to be concerned with image, messaging, and delivery. Because this whole, moral superiority act many shooters adopt, isn’t flying.

      Lets not give up just yet. It’s like the military. Adapt and over come. Adapt and overcome.

      • Coyote Gray, I’m not just an NRA member and defender, I’m an NRA fan. I think they’ve done more for gun rights than any other organization — which is why the left hates the NRA more than the SAF or GOA. I’m following the NRA’s lead on this to the end.

        Yeah, we do fight among ourselves, but that’s okay. We’re all individuals. That’s the way we’re made. I wouldn’t change that if I could — except for one thing: we had better be all in with the NRA, or we’re done. I’m not saying that the SAF and GOA are not worthy. Far from it. They’re great and they deserve our full support. But the NRA is our last best hope.

        As far as our country is concerned, I’m 65 and probably won’t be around to see it fall apart. But you young guys will. I’m sorry about that. You have no idea what I — what everyone — once had.

        We’re hip deep in the Big Muddy, the Big Fool says to “push on” and the lemmings are following him right over the cliff.

        • Maybe it’s because I’m an FNG to the firearms world, but the NRA nevers sits quite right with me. Since joining the fold, I keep almost joining, but something always keeps me from taking the plunge, despite having joined some other organizations. As a gamer, someone with a mental illness, and someone who has done some advocacy work for people with mental illness, LaPierre’s press conference rubbed me wrong in some ways.

          Maybe his swipe at video games was poorly worded and he just didn’t have enough time to elaborate. As it stands, it sounds like finger pointing and taking the easy road. Bringing up Mortal Kombat, GTA, and a couple other games that I’ve barely heard of and aren’t exactly modern or popular just smacks of the same laziness in research that we frequently accuse the anti-gunners and journalists of having. I’d also say that parents buying their kids video games should actually look at the %#€ing ratings and the explanations of said ratings on the box and not buy Call of Duty for their 11 year old, but that’s another story… or perhaps a story that should have been brought up constructively rather than just saying “GAMES BAD”.

          A federal registry of the mentally ill might play well on TV (even though it was all but ignored), but think about how well other “registries” that limit rights work out, i.e. Terrorist watch lists and sex offender lists. Easy to get on them, hard to get off, and boy can they make your life hell. Also, what illnesses/diagnoses do or don’t count? Mental health is murky as hell. Diagnoses change, and psychiatry is still something of a fuzzy discipline at best. Past behavior may be a better indicator and a solid point of discussion, but I didn’t see any such consideration. It was rushed over in order to give a grand, innovative proposal to… Wait for it… Put more cops in schools.

          We waited a week for this? Another statement of sympathy for the victims, some lame finger pointing, an intellectually lazy quip about mental health, and then a long advertisement for doing what amounts to, well, more of the same? Announced by the same polarizing and quite uninspiring face of the NRA that been in the same position for what seems like 20 years. Oh, and some no name policy wonk. Not bringing up any possible AWB seemed to be the only part they put any thought into, although it did take reading some of the speculation on here to convince me of that. Everything else was thoroughly uninspiring and really made the NRA come off as anything but a leader for the cause.

          Maybe it was deliberately crafted to be fed into the brain-dead sound bite machine. Maybe there will be some better points and discussions later on. Right now, though, my impression is “fossilized, Fudd money sucker”.

          Someone please prove me wrong.

        • Clarification: LaPierre is polarizing to anti-gunners because he’s been the face of the NRA for so long. He is, in their minds, the face of Ebil. He certainly seems boring as all hell from this side, though.

          +1 on the Samuel L. Jackson nomination, though.

      • “This is the difference between them and us: all they want is to control everything, and all we want is to be left alone.”

        Ralph I completely agree with you and this statement. I have been to a couple gun stores and I haven’t seen it like this since the Supreme Lord & Dictator got elected. Something bad is on the way not sure what it is, fisical cliff is what we know of. The LEFT is going to run with this shooting and squeeze it dry to get what they want…….Control!

        Rob Drummond
        Hillsboro, NH

    • “Anti government activities” can and does mean anything. Including any kind of criticism at all. Assholes who call themselves government have a long history of pointing guns at those who say things they don’t like. (Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798)

      • Assholes who call themselves government have a long history of pointing guns at those who say things they don’t like.

        Totally correct, Bob. And now, it’s people who own guns who are in their sights, and I don’t like it.

        • We’re smaller than them, but we’re smarter.
          We lack their unification, but we’ll lean on each other.
          We won’t be willing to make the moral compromises they will, but therein lies our strength.
          When things go bad, all they can get is mean. We get clever.
          And they probably will triumph in the short term.
          But in the end they will fall as every tyranny does.

    • This is all so crazy. When I look at the “Bill of Rights” I see a document written for the Individual. Its suppose to protect us, the individual, from them, ANYONE trying to suppress our right to Freedom, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happieness. And this tragic deplorable act this person committed has taking the lid completely off the can of worms. I heard it said once when Iraq was trying to write their constution, why don’t we give them ours, because we’re not using it. Our 1st ammendment says we have the right to free speech, but if you get arrested they say you have the right to remain silient, or anything you say can and WILL be used against you, which is already a clear violation of the 5th ammendent, And I’m sorry folks, not to sure how big my soapbox might get, but when Piers Morgan won’t shut up long enough to someone answer his question, the way he wants it, I think he should dog paddle his A$$ back to Britain where he’s from. Now they want to hammer away at the 2nd ammendent where I see the well regulated militia as being necessary to the security of a free state, be they the Police, which ever level you could choose, the Right to keep and bare Arms, SHALL, almost sounds Biblical, NOT be Infringed ,Period. I don’t recall this kind of uproar, when the showed all the little Syrian children all lined up dead. In fact we send these so called assault weapons to them, and not the cheap garden verity semiautomatic they’re the full blown very expensive fully automatic kind with pallets of ammo. And then turn our heads as if to see how all the wonderful stuff we’ve done for Haiti is still going by the plan to rebuild their country. And when one of our Soldiers goes wacko with his goverment provided training and weapons, we wisk him off, back to the American justice where he’ll live a long life with everything provided for him, til death do he part. When one of our proud fighting men is killed saving someone in harms way , we says what a great thing it was he’s done laying down his life for his country, as so many have done. But then we turn around and take a plea bargin from the guy that shot Ms. Gifford, probably saying something like,”it will spare him the death penelty. what a crock, and he didn’t even use an “Assuly weapon”. Or the guy in Colorado, caught dead to right red handed, tell tell him the same thing, confess and we’ll give you life. Thousands of GUN laws and add some more, it won’t change anything. The Democratic plan is changes by vote of the majority, of the people, but when is it really left to us to decide? The News media pushes their very own aggenda with propaganda designed to get big grabbing headlines to draw us in like flys to the bug light. And so now all this talk about the 2nd ammenent didn’t really mean Assult rifles it meant muskets. And thts like the UN telling the USA we can have nuclear weapons to protect us with because after all the kill innocent women and children. And when they show the picture of the Officer, and he must have been some undercover officer running by kids and psrents looking for their child at this incident kind of makes me wonder how many peolpe he scarred the bajizzers out of. I ask if this guy had not killed himself would they? Or if he had been captured what then? Oh yeah his rights and court probably another plea bargin, mostly so they could study him, figure out makes him tick. And the best part is that most any 2 bit lair. opps I meant Lawyer would have gotten him off with the INSANE plea. And they are going to go after every possible way to make these guns ilegal, take the rights of hundreds of millions of people because they say the many out weigh the few, and thats absolutly not what Bill of rights is for, its for the ONE, so they can live Free to choice what they want without the oppression, from or by the government, What happened is very sad, I still cry when I see the stories, but I don’t think passing anymore laws agains law abding citizens is going to change anything. So don’t worry they trying to figure out how to pry your cold dead hands from your guns just so they can start telling you what you can say or do. And as for as the NRA goes I’d like my money back, and stop asking me for more. And if all the guns owners got together and excercised the 2A with a million man march on Washington, with just their Deer rifles, the message would be a lot clearer, when the 535 people we’ve elected to represent us look out the window and could see where WE THE PEOPLE stand concerning our rights. And the Assult weapon is a twoway street, If you are fending off an assult.

  2. Every day that passes, I find that I have less and less faith that we, as law abiding gun owners, have any hope of retaining our rights with this onslaught of negative ‘journalism’.

    • Suck it up and stop your whining, soldier. It’s already getting better.

      Proof: NBCnews.com, the most vitriolic and emotionally-charged of the major news sites, currently has these two headlines as their top gun-related stories:

      Armed guards, locked doors:
      US schools seek security
      after Newtown shooting

      In Texas town, teachers carry guns

      And that’s on the WORST of the news sites when it comes to fair coverage of the issue. Yeah, the storm sucked, but there are signs that the initial fury is subsiding.

      • Just finished reading the Sunday paper this morning and was surprised by the tone of the gun control article. Despite being a McClatchey paper and article (sorry, couldn’t locate it on the web yet), it seemed as if they were preparing their side for the reality of failure: admitting that politically nothing is likely to happen even with the blood dancing.

  3. las vegas nevada has it’s own school police force, can’t remember the last time there was any kind of violence, it’s a good idea but we also need a serious discussion about what to do with mental illness in our society along with a review of the current psychotropic drugs being used.

    • In response to green on blue (mass shootings) in Afghanistan we finally let our troops have a mag in their weapon on base and established a guardian angel program (armed response) which “in at least several unpublished incident, the Guadrian Angel program has either saved the lives of American troops or mitigated casualties” (NY TIMES, 18 AUG 2012, Richard Oppel). I’ m suprised the NRA didn’t mention this but like you stated armed guards work, like it or not, and needs to be a part of the overall solution.

  4. A) We would all do well to remember, that not all shooters are hunters, nor are they all tactical/sporting rifle enthusiast. Shooters are a diverse group of individuals with a diverse set of political and social leanings.

    B) The ability to identify fragmentation with in the country and appeal to underserved populations is a key aspect to how President Obama won this last election. And it should be clear to anyone listening, that he is doing the same with gun owners. He is appealing to dissenting voices, and working to drive a wedge between us.

    C) The people representing gun owners, aren’t doing a good job defending the AR platform. A versatile and robust rifle platform, used by many hunters around the country, along with competitive shooters and collectors. It is particularly favored by ex-military who used similar systems while in service to this country. It isn’t a magic death beam delivered by Satan himself into the hands of the white man.

    D) This press conference once again demonstrates why I can never join the NRA. Honestly, they MUST spend all their donations on stuffing political coffers; because they obviously don’t spend it in Public Relations. This press conference was full of great points, delivered in the worst possible manner. I could have walked up on that stage cold, and delivered a more moving and palatable speech without ANY preparation. The NRA had a week and this was the best they could do? At least show some diversity in either gender or race.

    E) Stock up on AR’s now while you can. Assuming they grandfather what’s still available and don’t prevent transferring them, they will be worth a mint in the future.

    • Great points, Coyote, agree on every one — but I’m reasonably certain pretty much every prospective gun owner in the nation reached conclusion (E) before you did.

      • As evidenced by the empty shelves at my local gun shop on my most recent trip. A result of blind optimism as opposed to blind ignorance. On the plus side, I was the only one smart enough to recognize the LWRC lower with an 8″ barrel configured as a pistol and hanging on the wall, was only a new stock and a $200 tax stamp away from being a kick as SBR. #mysbr

    • This press conference once again demonstrates why I can never join the NRA.

      Geez, Coyote Gray, don’t you realize what you just did? You correctly noted that POTUS is dividing us to conquer us, and then tossed the only unifying gun group right under the bus. You’re dancing to Obama’s tune, and you of all people should know better.

      • I just joined the NRA for three years. Be a rugged individual on your own time, and supports gun rights as a unified front.

        Or you could simply be “too good” to join the NRA and don’t support the single greatest defender of 2A freedom. The NRA isn’t perfect, but it is the best we have.

      • There has been a huge push by the media in stressing that the NRA leadership does not represent the membership in their desire to be less extreme. Divide and Conquer.

      • @Ralph, I think that’s a very fair point. Although I think it is worth noting, that I have been disenfranchised by the NRA long before the POTUS, Newtown, or this news conference came around.

        I am reconsidering my decision to send the NRA money right now.

        Anyone else on TTAG not yet members and reconsidering? I am just interested in some anecdotal evidence that this may actually coalesce more shooters.

        Perhaps this is a good opportunity to lead an effort via TTAG, to grow NRA membership as a way to show support for 2A in a way that matters; We can essentially state, that while we don’t all necessarily agree with every single NRA position, we realize they are our last best hope at defending our 2A rights.

        • I am a liberal on many issues and an NRA member. Even though they have been composing themselves as a republican interest group and wasting money supporting weak candidates and ignoring the younger more libertarian generation, and in general doing a number of things to weaken their own position, they are a force for good (in spite of what idiots with bully pulpits say) and they are who their members are. So if you want them tobe more like you, join and get others like you to join.

  5. The hypocrisy is there for all to see now. The Mayors Against Protecting Children can jump up & down all they want. Young mothers will probably see the school protectors as they are, people risking their lives for their kids, Randy

  6. Reading stuff like this makes me feel like Robert Neville from the book I Am Legend;Its like I’m fighting to preserve a country that’s dead and gone,replaced in the night by a race of alien creatures who despise sense and reason.I fear someday our destiny as right thinking gun owners is the same as poor Neville’s.

  7. OK I had enough of these media fascist PIGs and there high class jokes!!!!!! How many men died to protect our 2A???? We lost over 200,000 air crew over Europe in WW2 they died to protect our freedoms and let America live. I paraphrase a WW2 movie line is the fight worth it?? Well the only one who wanted this war (on our rights) are the fascists. The main point is no one man race or super idea (liberal utopia) should impose itself on a free nation, the answer is YES the fight is worth it. Men died so we can have your freedoms and YES a freedom to own AR-15s and mags over 10rds and freedoms to worship wherever we want. They suffered more than those kids last week seeing more horror than any one can imagine. They gave the biggest sacrifice and they lost a life and a family never to exist no wife no kids and they did that for our freedoms which the 2A is BIG part of that.

    Sham on you you anti freedom creeps. Those kids blood is on your hands ABC NBC CBS and CNN. Your agenda to make more killings to ban guns and doing what these killers want to be on TV is why they are dead not our freedoms. May you look at yourself on the mirror on the holiday and just look and see what a pompous &$% you and your coworkers are!

    • Perfectly well said. Additionally, since they are suppressing our voices via one sided coverage and disinformation, they are also attempting to squash our first amendment right. Hopefully this will blow over. If it doesn’t, we need to fight them in the courts and through the legal system. After that it’s just time to fight. Make no mistake about it, we have a second amendment right. Any attempt to take that way should be met with our full force.

  8. Just got a fundraising and sign-the-petition email from BoldProgressives.org decrying the NRA. The key line was this:

    “The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” The NRA wants more guns in our schools.

    Here was my response:

    Sirs:

    I am a liberal gun owner, and supporter of EVERY right in the Bill Of Rights, including the 2nd. The NRA put forward a suggestion that we do more of something we are already doing, protecting our schools with armed law enforcement officers.

    Your reaction to their reasonable proposal is both irrational and reprehensible. Why do you want my children to die in the next attack? Are you so callous that you are willing to see another mass-murder attack succeed just to further your political agenda?

    My answer to you is this: you will never receive another dollar from me ever again. I will do my level best to convince every other moderate Democrat I know to never donate to your organization ever again. If your message is that my kids don’t deserve to live if a madman attacks their school, then your organization doesn’t deserve to exist.

    Yours,
    (real name here)

    • It took great restraint, BTW, not to end the message with some form of “Kindly FOAD”. Would have been emotionally satisfying, but not especially effective in supporting my points.

      • I think what is interesting is that you define yourself as a “liberal” gun owner. While I am a bit more politically ambiguous, I definitely don’t relate with many conservative values today. And this is something the NRA has failed to take advantage of. They need to really show the public just how diverse the face of shooters are today. We run the gambit politically , educationally, ethnically, generationally…but we all have 1 thing in common. Our support of 2A.

        • Coyote, the problem with that is not just the NRA but all of us. Too many gun enthusiasts I know (and thoes I see online) all pretty much tell liberals and athiests as a whole to FOAD.

          As a whole we will not acknowledge our diversity and that will be our downfall.

          I am a Libertarian, agnostic and while I dont agree with some topics pro-choice. I am also pro-gay marraige. I dont expect people to respect me nor do I demand it. But if we are going to stand for our rights we must get over our differences.

        • I split the difference between liberal and small-L libertarian, but that’s irrelevant here. Identifying myself as “liberal” is a rhetorical tool for defeating the automatic us-vs-them categorization that would make it easy for them to ignore my message.

          And yes, the NRA needs to be MUCH more inclusive, across the political, gender, and racial spectrum. That’s why I’m advocating for Samuel L. Jackson to be recruited as the new spokesman for the NRA. (Seriously.)

        • Thanks, Ralph. Same back atcha.

          One of the great benefits of spending time with both moderate and weapons-grade liberals is that I know exactly how to hit them where it hurts, rhetorically speaking.

          Recipe for putting a weapons-grade liberal back on their heels: cite one devastating flaw in his/her factual basis, then attack-attack-attack on the emotional triggers. Make THEM defend why they want your kids to die screaming in a classroom while the police are racing to the scene from miles away.

          Note: this technique NOT recommended for Thanksgiving/Hanukkah/Christmas/etc family meals.

    • AlphaGeek, Next time you are in town jack and cokes are on me! Absolutely brilliant!

      It is funny, I have friends who are card carrying socialists, but have their guns. On the same note I have conservatives who are doing some serious soul searching. With the way most of the media is dealing with this, you would think the words conservative, or gun owner equates to some evil spawn of Satan hell bent on killing everything and everyone.

      It isn’t just the NRA that needs to expand it’s inclusiveness. Conservatives also need to enlarge their tent. There are tea party, and libertarian who have felt very disenfranchised by many. There is room out there for a lot of differing opinions, but it seems like in the country today it is a narrow point of view, and if you don’t agree you are told to go away.

      This country is becoming a scary place… I fear for our future..

      • Either a Captain-and-ginger or top shelf bourbon-and-soda would do fine. 🙂

        If you haven’t tried spiced rum with Vernor’s ginger ale, you’re missing one of the better things in life.

  9. This is how genocides start. Arm up while you can.

    Never forget this, gun owners. Remember that more than half of your neighbors, the people you pass in the grocery store, the guy filling up his car at the gas station next you, your supposed countrymen, are your enemies, and will some day be your mortal enemies.

    Even if you don’t believe that, at least recognize the sort of sub-human scum they are to think, act, and threaten like this, and treat them as such. Never help them, never treat them like the humans they aren’t. It’s impossible to win the moral and legal high ground against animal-minded simpletons and their tyrannical overlords, so we might as well reciprocate and make their lives as miserable as they try to make ours. They deserve no less.

  10. Ya’ know, my middle school and high school both had an assigned police officer. Never once during those 8 years did we have any sort of negligent discharge, or even a gun drawn for that matter. And, guess what, my college has an armed police department, as do many major universities. I don’t see people protesting against them.

  11. I’m going to have to stop reading this blog. I’ve never seen such weakly founded negativity. It’s depressing. The late 20th century was the era of gun control. In 20 years it will be dead. Sooner depending on how fast 3D printing/materials science progresses. There will be some feel good mental health legislation that relates to background checks. Won’t do anything but whatever. AWB probably passes the senate and dies in the House. Surprisingly, Obama doesn’t care too much. He wants to look like he’s doing something. Putting Biden in charge of this proves it. Actually, an AWB probably wont pass the senate. There are 33 GOA “A” grades.

    • There are 33 A grades, and 67 who are not. An AWB will pass in the Senate. As to whether or not it will pass the house, it depends on what’s in it. Confiscation is a nonstarter — that kind of bill won’t even pass in the Senate. Restraints on alienation won’t pass the House. So-called “high capacity” bans, with full grandfathering, can pass both houses. I already live with that law in MA, and frankly,while I certainly don’t like it, it’s more of a nuisance than anything else.

      My concern isn’t just the legislation, it’s the absolute idiocy of too many Americans. This used to be a smart country. Now it’s a nation run by and for morons.

      • “My concern isn’t just the legislation, it’s the absolute idiocy of too many Americans. This used to be a smart country. Now it’s a nation run by and for morons.”

        — Well said Sir.

      • Well, time to get in your reps faces. They won’t go for confiscation. They’ll go with a 1994 ban but make it permanent. I’ll concede that it will probably pass the Senate. Look at all those GOA “A’s ” in the House. I lost count after trying to tally Texas and Florida alone. If we keep the heat on them, there’s just nothing for them to gain by voting for it.

        Let’s get in the enemies’ faces

        What “liberal” media type, if they were standing outside the window while their first grader was being slaughtered by a drugged out mongoloid, would not use an “assault” weapon to save their baby?

        You know what? Let’s just lay out who these “liberal” politicians are: they’re people who get a paycheck by supplying piles of dead babies. If there are no dead kids in their schools, they have no reason for their existence. They need dead kids to remain relevant. These “liberal” media types and politicians use dead kids as an excuse to get paid and gather more power for themselves.

        So all you Pierce Morgans, MikeB#’s, et al, you who rely on dead babies to get your paychecks and make yourselves relevant to your idiot followers, F** You. Tie a millstone around your necks and jump into the sea. Pieces of filth.

  12. This article contains a condensation of the ultra-left wing garbage the media always shows and in reading some of these posts I honestly can’t believe that some of us seem to be buying into their view of the way things are in this nation.

    • Just to clarify, my point is gun sales are through the roof and CCW’s are through the roof. We have more support than ever and the only time the media mentions it is to demonize it.

    • I encourage you not to misinterpret the responses. I’ve been doing the online debate thing for as long as there’s been an Internet. In a battle of rhetoric, the combatants need a metaphorical place to rest, bandage their wounds, and share tales from the front. The same phenomenon takes place on both sides of the debate, and I guarantee that many of the confiscators are just as bruised and hurt from their participation in arguments. (I don’t sympathize, just observing.)

      This is where we come to share our tales and encourage each other, especially those who seem to have given up. Except for the trolls, who should not be fed under any circumstances.

      • I do agree and maybe it’s just that I interpreted some posts the wrong way but when fellas or gals express exasperation with our country and not the media/politics it bothers me.

        • Exhibit A for why you should not listen too closely: the number of people who have actually moved to Canada after threatening to do so during the past several election seasons is basically zero. This from the mouth of the Canadian head of immigration.

          I find it far more worrisome when people promote segregation-by-viewpoint, telling folks to move out of states like CA to more gun-friendly locales. That’s bad in so many different ways I don’t even know where to start.

  13. The press conference was obviously meant as a political salvo more than a constructive plan of action.

    They should have urged every school to reassess its security plan and for every gun owner to ensure the security of his or her guns… then promise to address the political issues another day. People understand that the anti-gun lobby is striking while the iron is hot, but the NRA didn’t have to play that game.

  14. He should have stated plainly in the conference, “every politician who votes for an AWB is an enemy of the 2a and will be voted out at the end of his or her term”… That would have been a great speech and he was going to be vilified anyway

  15. A ban on mags or rifles is bad enough the extended danger is the penalties imposed by mere possession of banned items example NY a flash hider or bayonet lug could get you a five-year felony sentence. despite are 2 A rights and cruel and unusual punishment to say the least. Thats the real crap behind the warped misguided agenda’s pushed by the like of Schumer laughterburg etc. I will not surrender my property nor will I be lead off to prison. Dangerous times seem to be ahead for the majority of us God help us all.

  16. 202 GOA “A” grades in the House. Lots of B’s. AWB will be hard pressed to get passed. I guess it’s going to depend on how much gun owners are willing to invest. Too bad they just don’t have time for that 3 minutes phone call. After all, “the game’s on”.

    • Now is the time for the lobbying organizations to exert pressure.

      When there IS a bill, whether it’s made it to the House or not, THEN it will be time for phone calls. Otherwise your call won’t be tallied as opposing a specific piece of legislation.

  17. Hexx has no furry like the mass media scorned.
    (paraphrasing and doing a little re-writing of William Shakespeare)

    Good. Let the mass media harpies loudly attack the NRA for daring to suggest that America should put a cop in every school to protect our children. The bell has been struck and cannot be un-struck. Just like CC permits becoming legal and spreading state to state I think that having armed security in schools is an idea which will spread and become accepted.

  18. This is the anti-gun movement’s moment. We shouldn’t be surprised they are seizing it, and we shouldn’t have expected them to drop the ball in the aftermath of such a horrific event. There is no low to which the enemies of liberty will not stoop.

    At the same time, I still believe that if we do our part, we can and will succeed in preventing our Second Amendment rights from being further infringed. I keep saying it, and I’m going to say it again: We are stronger than we think we are. Hang in there.

  19. Time line: Police/armed guards to protect schools.

    2012 – “Any chance for national unity on U.S. gun violence appeared to wane a week after the Connecticut school massacre, as the powerful NRA gun rights lobby called on Friday for armed guards in every school and gun-control advocates vehemently rejected the proposal.”

    Before that we had:

    2000 – WASHINGTON — Marking the first anniversary of the shooting deaths at Columbine High School, President Clinton announced $120 million in new federal grants Saturday to place more police officers in schools and help even the youngest kids cope with their problems.
    “In our national struggle against youth violence we must not fail our children; our future depends on it,” the president said in his weekly radio address.

    And before that:

    1999 – “Former NRA president, the late actor Charlton Heston, made a similar proposal after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre near Denver that killed 12 students and one teacher.”

    Guess which of the 3 similar proposals was viewed favorably by the anti- 2nd Amendment crew, and which were considered “stupid”, “should be funded by a gun tax”, “making school a police state”, etc.

    I was taught that any philosophy or set of opinions must be consistent to deserve respect.

  20. Well HellsBells why didn’t I think of this sooner? Let’s issue every US citizen a gun upon birth. We can put one in those newborn packages they send home with mamas. We can train preschoolers how to shoot because Lord knows those preschool gun free zones are ripe for the picking. Yes by golly this is the ticket to keeping kids safe! And our 2nd Amendment intact! #NRALogic
    Wayne LaPierre is suffering from paranoid delusions. My reaction was to make a donation to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence on behalf of those precious children and educators murdered at Sandy Hook. It’s my way of telling the NRA and Mr. LaPierre what I think of their ridiculous solution.

    • Karen,

      After reading your comment, my response will be to make a donation to what will now be a fourth pro-gun advocacy organization. I will do it the name of the children who were murdered because people like you created ‘gun free zones’ which enable murders since no good person can be armed to stop them.

      • Karen,

        I have shot since I was 5 (bb guns and 22’s) and been around shooting my entire life….I wish I would have had one since birth, 5 seems like I got a late start. Supporting infringements on liberty is not the right way to go about this. With more freedom comes more responsibility and through that a more mature society can be built. Putting constraints on people for their own good is like homeschooling a kid to get them ready for social interactions. Home-schooled kids go crazy when they finally get freedom in college because they do not know what to do with themselves, but for a kid who has had more responsibilities and more freedom it just seems like another day…. take that metaphor and turn that into the gun control/ gun rights argument or any safety vs. liberty argument that goes on in politics. Liberty is always the answer

        • Wow, not to change the subject, but my impression of home schooled children vs. those who attended traditional schools is exactly the opposite of yours. (And I say that as someone who attended public schools) Modern schooling is a very flawed model, imho. Check out some lectures or writing by John Taylor Gatto.

        • Chris: why are going off on such a tangent on homeschooling in answering Karen’s troll droppings?

        • Oh and by the way Chris: children who are homeschooled are much better socialized than other children. On reaching adulthood they are much more likely to belong to a church, labor union, and civic organization, and do charity work than their peers. I do not know how to post links or I would show a study’s findings on this.

    • Karen, lots of city schools have armed police officers assigned to them, and it wasn’t the NRA’s idea.

      For reasons of cost, I don’t think we can expect every school in the country to do this. But I’m not sure why anyone would think it’s a crazy idea.

    • I was born and raised in California. I started shooting here when I was 6 or so. I have always respected the tool for what it can do.
      Mr. LaPierre advocated something that many states are already doing. Israel does it as a nation, so really he isn’t totally off precedent.
      All the NRA really is doing is footing the bill to pay for it. That isn’t really a bad idea, no tax hike in order to pay for it all.
      My children go to public school. There are a whole range of issues regarding child safety, from holes in the fence, to disaster planning. An active shooter is only a single point. I like you feel our kids are important, and precious gifts. I personally have spent time at my kids schools looking at aspects of security. I have put together a list of concerns and I have spoken with out local police department about it. I take safety seriously.
      Thinking that a nut case who wants to harm our children will stop with guns, is denial. It is easy to make bombs, or use other weapons to inflict great harm.
      There is a whole host of issues that we as a nation need to address, but banning something that is only responsible for 0.4% of gun crime is pretty low on the list.

    • Here’s a hypothetical for you… If your child was in that school that day, and you arrived at the same time as the shooter, would you have liked to have a gun on you, or would you have taken your chances and waited for the police?

      If you would liked to have had the gun, then what is so ridiculous about the idea of having an armed person on the premises BEFORE the shooter gets there, or better yet, the shooter never shows up in the first place because he has already decided that he will be the only person shooting at himself that day.

      Alternatively, if you would be honestly willing to sit it out and wait or even if you would, on principle, rather take your chances without the gun, I genuinely and in the strongest terms hope that our children are never in the same school.

    • To Karen or whomever, be it a school, theater or mall, you can promote your gun free zone’s all you want, that’s your right. Just remember that the Aurora shooter passed on 6 or 7 theaters before he found the one declaring itself a gun free zone, and you know that outcome. If you’re going to promote gun free zone’s just don’t cry in anguish when your worst nightmare becomes reality. Evil will always be hovering close by, trying to find a way. That’s the nature of evil. We’re just trying to make it harder for it to find a place to land.

      • Also I’d like to add that I do like your one suggestion Karen. Since I currently owe $51,918 (as of Dec. 3rd.) to our national debt., I would be more than happy to pay a measly additional $400 more to receive that Glock or ? from the govt. that I didn’t receive at birth. Just put it on my tab!

  21. All this idiocy about “assault rifles”, and “bring back the AWB” is a “change-the-subject” ploy by the politicians, and their leftist supporters in the media, who know they can’t defend the stupidity of the Gun Free School Zone Act they so cleverly dropped on us, so they want to evade the question by blaming guns and all gun owners instead.

    I’d like to hear how they rationalize the outrageous idiocy that thinks a law, and a sign declaring “Nobody is allowed to have a gun within 1,000 feet of a school’s grounds” is going to be obeyed by any criminal, let alone a homicidal/suicidal psycho intent on mass-murder of children.

    Look up “Donna the deer lady” on You-Tube. She was very upset that DEER XING signs were posted on busy highways, and wanted them posted on back roads instead. That way the deer would be directed to where they could move about safely. That is the same kind of idiocy that is reflected in the prohibitions of the Gun Free School Zone Act. Homicidal/suicidal psychos will see a sign that says “Gun Free Zone”, turn around and go home.
    That stupid theory has been proved false over and over, each time costing innocent lives.

    That such a “gun free zone” actually attracts and protects mass-murderers is something the supporters choose to ignore.

    So of course we will never hear any justification for such reckless foolishness. We will never hear a word of apology for their stupidity. We will never hear them admit that it had exactly the opposite effect of providing safety to the mass-murderer, who KNOWS he will have the only gun within 1,000 feet..
    Perhaps the true intent was to harass lawful pistol permit holders, and limit them in their movements. Even a lawfully armed pistol permit holder driving past a school could be in violation of the 1,000 foot limit. To some warped minds, anything that can limit the RKBA they view as “good”, especially if it is done under the guise of “the safety of our children”. That it endangers our children, while falsely promising the protect them, shows it to be not only a failure but absurd.
    The blood of those children is on the hands of the brilliant legislators, and all their supporters, who foisted this GFSZA idiocy on us all, and now want to change the subject to “assault weapons”.

  22. I think Mr LaPierre could have done a better job of being calm, and delivering facts, rather than open himself and the NRA to scorn for his own emotional reaction.

    Same here- we all need to take a chill pill and stick to the facts. Christmas is near- focus on friends, family, and hold them dear and ponder the meaning of this time.

    Thoughtful adults will be looking for facts and informed discussion as the grieving process matures –

    And I am certain there are a lot of moderates and liberals, especially parents,
    who are quietly rethinking their own beliefs on guns, when they think of their kids being in an essentially undefended killzone at schools or any other gun free zone.

    They will come to places like TTAG looking for information, and if they see a bunch of OFWGs with their panties in a wad in a circular firing squad, they will have to go elsewhere.

    • Both my oldest and my middle child, in separate conversations, have commented on how incredible it is that people are screaming their heads off about guns in the schools, even though we already have sworn (i.e. armed) officers assigned to the high schools in our city.

      Best quote, from my middle child: “Has anyone told them that we already have police officers in our schools, who carry guns, and it makes us feel safer to know that they’re around?”

      • LOL. Yeah people can sometimes be so full of drama (and themselves) and the need to act like little children. I don’t think most kids would be freaked out about a cop or security guard with a gun at school to protect them unless adults prod them to freak out. I think they’d find it cool and comforting that there is an adult to protect them if they care to even have an opinion about it.

  23. We have to give the NRA full support on this. Obama has “called out” the NRA and they will be the ones doing the fighting on our behalf. Even if some gun owners have not agreed with the NRA in the past, we have to get behind them and give full support.

    • I agree, and I’d like to make one thing clear:

      It’s OK to support the NRA and offer constructive criticism when they could do better at something. If (ahem) they suck at giving good press conferences, it’s perfectly legitimate to point that out and should not be interpreted as being anti-NRA.

      For those of you, like me, who are sometimes queasy regarding the NRA-ILA and their tactics: there is a time to recognize when the battle has been joined and you need the strongest allies you can find. This is one of those times. I am setting aside any issues I have with the NRA for as long as it takes, and I encourage any others in my camp to do the same.

        • I suppose there is some definite wisdom there, jwm.

          Perhaps an email of “you suck and here’s why, now do better” may be in order.

        • You guys are probably right about supporting the NRA. They are far from the ideal gun rights organization yet they are the pro-gun community’s *800 lbs gorilla.

        • jwm, I see it more like my Viking ancestors did:

          When you’re going into battle, the fact that this one guy constantly pisses everybody off in the mead hall is irrelevant, because he’s a f*cking insane 2m-tall berserker on the battlefield and you’re glad to have him on YOUR side.

          For the avoidance of doubt, the NRA is the berserker in this parable. 🙂

      • Perhaps this is a good opportunity to lead an effort via TTAG, to grow NRA membership as a way to show support for 2A in a way that matters; We can essentially state, that while we don’t all necessarily agree with every single NRA position, we realize they are our last best hope at defending our 2A rights.

        This will clarify we are in support of 2A, but that we also think the NRA needs to do better in how we are represented. Perhaps demonstrate a new face that the NRA can adopt.

  24. I did not like Mr. LaPierre throwing the 1st amendment under the bus to try to save the 2nd amendment. I think the nra could have come out and supported a whole host of ideas instead of just one. They could have supported people having to go through NRA basic and NRA long gun training before buying an “assault rifle”. They could have called for states to start dumping mental health records into the background checks. Etc… They were quiet for a week out of respect and I do not have a problem with that. But to have that time and break the silence with “armed guards and maybe look at video games, okay that’s all I got” did not help us.

    I agree with armed guards but it could have been presented better, first get rid of the word armed guard and use a word no one could disagree with like advocate officer. I would have liked to hear a statement more like this.

    “we believe that an advocate officer would have helped in this situation to eliminate response time as many of these shooters take their own life at first sign of resistance. Response time was 20 minutes. If a gunman had a classroom full of children who couldn’t even reach the door handle he could have done the same thing with any weapon. An advocate officer would not only be an asset during the rare case of a shooting but also to show children that they are there to help keep the schools safe and bridge the gap between the most vulnerable and those who are there to protect and serve our community. An advocate officer would be an asset to the safety of our children not only in times of a tragedy such as this but to limit the amount negative influences our children are exposed to such as drugs and bullying. An advocate officer would be approachable by the children to confide in if they were having problems at school or even at home. Children may feel more comfortable to tell an officer that they see every day that they were being mentally, physically, or sexually abused at home then they would to tell a complete stranger. ”

    Now tell me how in the world anyone could turn this around that this would be a bad idea. If they tried they would run the risk of looking like they were okay with bullying, drugs, and children being abused. I don’t doubt that they would try but we don’t need to hand it to them on a silver platter. I know the NRA does good work but this was far from even a decent job of fighting back a wave.

  25. One of the points the NRA absolutely nailed, in my opinion, is that everyone actually already agrees more guns are the answer. The only difference is anti-gun people believe those guns should arrive some unspecified amount of time after the killing begins (in Newtown it was apparently 20 minutes) and the NRA and other pro-gun people believe they should be there from the start, before any killing happens, while there’s still a chance of keeping a massacre from happening. Why the former position is held out as “mainstream” and the latter as “extreme” is a mystery of the universe.

  26. Rico Shay says:

    December 23, 2012 at 01:26

    This is all so crazy. When I look at the “Bill of Rights” I see a document written for the Individual. Its suppose to protect us, the individual, from them, ANYONE trying to suppress our right to Freedom, Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of happieness. And this tragic deplorable act this person committed has taking the lid completely off the can of worms.

    I heard it said once when Iraq was trying to write their constution, why don’t we give them ours, because we’re not using it. Our 1st ammendment says we have the right to free speech, but if you get arrested they say you have the right to remain silient, or anything you say can and WILL be used against you, which is already a clear violation of the 5th ammendent,

    And I’m sorry folks, not to sure how big my soapbox might get, but when Piers Morgan won’t shut up long enough to someone answer his question, the way he wants it, I think he should dog paddle his A$$ back to Britain where he’s from. Now they want to hammer away at the 2nd ammendent where I see the well regulated militia as being necessary to the security of a free state, be they the Police, which ever level you could choose, the Right to keep and bare Arms, SHALL, almost sounds Biblical, NOT be Infringed ,Period.

    I don’t recall this kind of uproar, when the showed all the little Syrian children all lined up dead. In fact we send these so called assault weapons to them, and not the cheap garden verity semiautomatic they’re the full blown very expensive fully automatic kind with pallets of ammo. And then turn our heads as if to see how all the wonderful stuff we’ve done for Haiti is still going by the plan to rebuild their country. And when one of our Soldiers goes wacko with his goverment provided training and weapons, we wisk him off, back to the American justice where he’ll live a long life with everything provided for him, til death do he part.

    When one of our proud fighting men is killed saving someone in harms way , we says what a great thing it was he’s done laying down his life for his country, as so many have done. But then we turn around and take a plea bargin from the guy that shot Ms. Gifford, probably saying something like,”it will spare him the death penelty. what a crock, and he didn’t even use an “Assuly weapon”. Or the guy in Colorado, caught dead to right red handed, tell tell him the same thing, confess and we’ll give you life. Thousands of GUN laws and add some more, it won’t change anything. The Democratic plan is changes by vote of the majority, of the people, but when is it really left to us to decide?

    The News media pushes their very own aggenda with propaganda designed to get big grabbing headlines to draw us in like flys to the bug light. And so now all this talk about the 2nd ammenent didn’t really mean Assult rifles it meant muskets. And thts like the UN telling the USA we can have nuclear weapons to protect us with because after all the kill innocent women and children. And when they show the picture of the Officer, and he must have been some undercover officer running by kids and psrents looking for their child at this incident kind of makes me wonder how many peolpe he scarred the bajizzers out of. I ask if this guy had not killed himself would they? Or if he had been captured what then?

    Oh yeah his rights and court probably another plea bargin, mostly so they could study him, figure out makes him tick. And the best part is that most any 2 bit lair. opps I meant Lawyer would have gotten him off with the INSANE plea. And they are going to go after every possible way to make these guns ilegal, take the rights of hundreds of millions of people because they say the many out weigh the few, and thats absolutly not what Bill of rights is for, its for the ONE, so they can live Free to choice what they want without the oppression, from or by the government, What happened is very sad, I still cry when I see the stories, but I don’t think passing anymore laws agains law abding citizens is going to change anything.

    So don’t worry they trying to figure out how to pry your cold dead hands from your guns just so they can start telling you what you can say or do. And as for as the NRA goes I’d like my money back, and stop asking me for more. And if all the guns owners got together and excercised the 2A with a million man march on Washington, with just their Deer rifles, the message would be a lot clearer, when the 535 people we’ve elected to represent us look out the window and could see where WE THE PEOPLE stand concerning our rights. And the Assult weapon is a twoway street, If you are fending off an assult.

  27. My objection to the press conference is that it was too diffuse. Good points were raised, but there were too many of them.

    I would have stuck to just two ideas:

    1)The utter failure of GFSZA and its perverse encouragement of mass murder by assuring the safety of homicidal/suicidal psychos clearly proves it must be repealed.

    2)Putting MORE police and armed guards (in civilian clothes, with concealed weapons) in schools as at least an interim measure (clearly refer to Bill Clinton’s $120 million grant for the purpose in 2000). We can expect more “copycat” crimes of this sort.

  28. The poor NRA, they have tried so very hard to protect the 2A. They have sent me so many letters requesting more money to win this fight. But as we all know money can’t buy us happieness. Why didn’t they created a great canadid to run for office, with their beliefs. Instead they basically waited till almost the very end to say they were for Mitt, and as we all knew, he lost to the guy that lost last time. And although there is a great number of members and probably a much larger number of gum owners, who are not members, that trully love guns and shooting, we’re still looked at by the anti-gun people as being some sort of backwoods, low life, Bible clutching, hillbillies, that deserve the same rights to life as they do. Hell I’m now more concerned of being caught with my guns than being caught without it. And they don’t want to take away all the guns, just ours. They want their body guards and security people to keep theirs. And maybe they are right because we don’t need the George Zimmermans of the world watching over us. Its bad enough with just the law enforcement’s shoot first and ask questions later attitude. Case in point, the New York man shoot 41 times reaching for his ID, or the buff naked kid at that college shot and killed, NAKED with absolutely no weapon of anykind, or the kid at the train station laying face down hand cuffed but at least his killer admitted he thought he had pulled out his tazzer, Oops. And what did he get as punishment 2 years probation? And I was taught that the police can’t come in our homes without a warrant, til one night ih the rain my phone had somehow called 911 without my knowledge, they banged on the door so hard stuff at the desk I was at shock, and I’m so thankful, looking back on it now. I thought it was a friend messing with me. I actually set my gun back down, and went to see, only to be greeted in my own kitchen by 2 very large deputies with their guns aimed at me, I about S**t. Then they demaned to see every room in my house, even make actual contact with my wife, who was in the shower, very awkward position. Then they chastized me for the number sign the county put, because they were suppose to be next door. And have a nice evening. So when I here that they are even starting to talk serious about, serious gun control I say look out everyone they’re coming.

  29. Look at that person in the White House. His fiscal cliff negotiations are ” My way or the highway.” Hairry Reed won’t even pick up what is essentially a Democratic proposed compromise for the financial security of this country. What makes you think he will be any better on Gun Confiscation? I was a Democrat until Al Gore claimed he invented the internet. I apologize to all for my stupidity.

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