NRA Calls for 'Armed Security' Around Schools
"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," the NRA's Wayne LaPierre said.
The National Rifle Association broke its weeklong silence following the horrific shooting of 26 people at a school in Newtown, CT, and called Friday for a surge of gun-carrying "good guys" around American schools.
NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called for a new kind of American domestic security revolving around armed civilians, arguing that "the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
"We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents," LaPierre said at a morning press conference in Washington, DC.
"Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers. Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our children, we as a society leave them every day utterly defenseless, and the monsters and the predators of the world know it, and exploit it."
LaPierre's speech was a call to supporters to mobilize around a new vision of American domestic security, at a time when voices for gun control are steadily rising.
On Friday morning before the press conference, President Obama released a video (above) citing a petition by hundreds of Americans calling for swift action.
A request for comment from Pine-Richland School District was not immediately answered.
At the grassroots level, groups like Newtown United, a group of Newtown neighbors, are working to address major issues related to the tragedy, including gun control, violent media, mental health and legislation.
Newtown locals responded to the NRA press conference. Suzy DeYoung, a Newtown parent, coach and resident for nine years who has three children, said LaPierre's speech was playing to people’s fears.
“People are much smarter than this,” DeYoung said. “He is saying we need to be protected from guns by more guns. This lack of logic speaks for itself, and I truly believe the response you are about to see from parents all around the world will offer better commentary than I ever could."
Joanna Zachos, a mother in Sandy Hook, CT, said that while she supports an increase in gun control and personally does not believe in guns at all, that the larger problem goes "way beyond that."
"The problem we have is our immunity to violence as a society as a whole," she said. "Violent video games, violent movies, addiction to horror films. We've developed immunity to violence and violent images."
LaPierre also lamented violence in video games, music videos and "blood-soaked" films. But his central solution seemed to be a great mobilization of gun-carrying "good guys," a term he used repeatedly but did not define, who might be more present and respond more quickly than police.
"If we truly cherish our kids, more than our money, more than our celebrities, more than our sports stadiums, we must give them the greatest level of protection possible," LaPierre said. "And that security is only available with properly trained, armed 'good guys'."
LaPierre, who was interrupted twice by protesters who held signs in front of TV cameras, made a direct call for local action.
"I call on every parent. I call on every teacher. I call on every school administrator, every law enforcement officer in this country, to join with us and help create a national schools shield safety program to protect our children with the only positive line of defense that’s tested and proven to work," he said.
LaPierre did not take questions from reporters, and did not acknowledge the protesters.
Related Story and Blog:
U.S. Reps Altmire, Critz, Murphy, Kelly Accepted Contributions from NRA
BLOG: What Can We Do? Ideas On Gun Safety
Please help us get to 1,000 Facebook “likes” by clicking here and “liking” us.
Check out some of today's other top stories here.
Elizabeth
3:29 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
The NRA is nothing more than a group of fear mongers, bullies, whatever you want to call them, they are blaming everyone for the gun violence but themselves. Shame on them! Heartless money hungry souls.
Jason Baileys
4:06 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
You may not like the NRA, but they are so much more than what your view of them is. They train several folks how to properly use a firearm to defend themselves. They provide funding to help prosecutors put criminals who commit gun crimes in the slammer where they belong. You obviously have a negative opinion of them, and I'm sure I won't change it, but the NRA isn't all bad. They strongly believe in the 2nd Ammend. and stand up for their 4 million members, not to mention all American's right to bear.
ivy
5:22 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
Well said Jason! As a mom, I am 100% behind armed guards at schools to protect our innocent children! Guns don't kill people, people kill people...
Elizabeth
8:42 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
I am a mom too Ivy and i am appalled with your thinking???? Besides the schools, do you think we should have armed guards in theatres, malls and grocery stores, play grounds, high school football games, baseball games etc. Do some research on the countries that have strict gun laws! Look at the facts.
ivy
9:12 pm on Friday, December 21, 2012
I am all ears, how would you go about protecting our schools?
Ralph Meyer
9:02 am on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Wayne La Pierre and his NRA's policies are just plain unworkable and, on top of that, his notion that the increased proliferation of guns will be beneficial is INSANE!!! Those nations that have suffered some sort of massacre in the past and that passed stringent gun-ownership laws, outlawing assault rifles, requiring character checks for every gun and ammunition purchase, outlawing large size magazines, and making handguns almost impossible to purchase without presenting a very good reason for having one, and then requiring yearly licensing of the same for ownership, cut gun murders and such massacres as we seem to suffer in this country to nothing or nearly nothing. The NRA isn't worth diddleysquat as far as their stupid and ridiculous policies are concerned when it comes to stopping gun violence.
Jason Baileys
9:19 am on Saturday, December 22, 2012
How's that working in Chicago Ralph? It's has one of the highest murder rates in the nation. Not being able to defend yourself is INSANE!
Ralph Meyer
11:38 am on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Sorry, that's stupid in the extreme. Get rid of the guns and you get rid of the gun violence. When that happens, you will seen much less murder and mayhem from guns. Only gun nuts are dumb enough to believe that everybody going around armed like the gunfight at the OK Corral makes anyone safer. It doesn't work that way. Me, I don't want some gun nut 'carrying' and spraying bullets around a store to stop a holdup. Police stats indicate that even they who are well trained are in grave danger of hitting bystanders rather than perpetrators. Just imagine a shootout like you suggest. That's as insane as that Jerk and the NRA's "more guns is safer" nonsense.
James Dale Barrington
11:22 am on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Where Wayne LaPierre sees the young man who brought that horror to Newtown Elementary School as a monster and predator the Newtown United Group recognized that the problem is more than a single event and character. It is a part of our culture, and they suggested we might look at the many common contributors to our psyche and national pride. I agree with them. -
Ralph Meyer - You and I are on the same page with your feelings. Australia is one nation who had very similar laws on the books on firearms as we do, but after a massacre shook the nation as this one has ours they radically changed the laws to control firearms, and it has worked. -- Security guards at schools?? I would rather not, but would accept it. An armed security guard at schools?? No, not at all. Any weapon, which is solely made to kill another human being should be banned.
Jason Baileys
11:54 am on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Ralph, Chicago "got rid of guns" as you say, and the murder rate climbed to one of the highest in the nation.
Nobody is calling for a shootout? People with training are the best shot to stop something like the massacre last week. The measures they took at the school didn't.
I spoke with a policeman last Sunday. He said they can't stop everything. He did feel more needed to be done to protect the schools. So if they can't be everywhere and save everyone, it's on you to protect yourself. If you choose to hope it won't happen to you, good luck with that. I choose otherwise. Being scared of guns isn't the answer. Putting criminals away for say 5 or 10 years for a gun crime could help. Responsible gun ownership, can help. Not glorifying creeps and death on the tv all the time would help. Getting folks with obvious mental conditions help could contribute. If you ban guns the only thing you assure is, the only one's with them are people who want to do harm. I personally don't think that's the answer. I have friends who left England after they banned guns. They didn't feel safe. The cops can't get there fast enough the one guy told me.
We disagree and that's ok, discussion on this is a good thing. Merry Christmas everyone.
Elizabeth
1:00 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012
If you watched Wayne LaPierre with his statement ...of course no questions allowed, he never mentioned ONCE assault weapons. I think your friends left England for another reason.. check the facts I think for 2011 gun realted deaths 51 for the Year!!!Steadily going down. If you think arming good guys with more guns to shoot out the bad guys, i feel sorry for you. I am sorry the NRA has changed since you were a kid with your dad but that IS what happened. I felt i was watching a NAZI yesterday talk. ok have a guard at schools if that will make you feel better, but then what about
colleges
churches
temples
movie theaters
post offices
sports arenas
malls
banks
grocery stores
starbucks
wherever there has been a mass shooting??????? What put a armed guard everywhere??!!!! Get real
What about all those places.???????????
I am not afraid of guns but i am afraid of the NRA, and assault weapons.
and most of all people that think like you do.
WE NEED CHANGE
Elizabeth
2:19 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Anyone who wants to look at a chart on the stats can go to The united nations office on Drugs and Crime UNODC
Mark A.
10:25 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Armed guards in schools do not help stop assault rifle rampages. Columbine had an armed guard. VTech had lots of armed guards. It didn't help.