LGBTQ news and entertainment
Jon Stewart runs down the cray cray at the NRA Convention this past weekend in Texas.
The kids in Houston got off to a slow start as they really do more “2016 campaigning” than talk about guns. But they eventually get around to guns. Kinda.
Stewart breaks down the contradictions in the speechifying much better than I can. Take a look…
During Sunday’s Meet the Press, the National Rifle Association’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre sat down with host David Gregory and defended his organization’s universally panned call for armed guards to be stationed at every school in the country.
The NRA’s tone-deaf press conference on Friday has been widely criticized by all corners of the political arena, and several commentators were quick to point out that armed guards stationed at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and Fort Hood in Texas were all unable to prevent mass shootings. But LaPierre dismissed those cases on Sunday, and said that lawmakers should be willing to try anything that might work. Anything, noted David Gregory, so long as it doesn’t involve guns and ammunition:
GREGORY:This is a matter of logic, Mr. LaPierre, because anybody watching this is going to say ‘hey wait a minute. I just heard Mr. LaPierre say that the standard is we should try anything that might reduce the violence. And you’re telling me that it’s not a matter of common sense that if you don’t have an ability to shoot off 30 rounds without reloading, that just possibly you could reduce the loss of life? Would Adam Lanza have been able to shoot as many kids if he didn’t have as much ammunition?’
LAPIERRE: I don’t buy your argument for a minute.
I think it goes to reason that if you can only shoot 10 people in a minute instead of 30, it’s possible to think fewer people may get shot. That seems a logical theory. Mr. LaPierre simply doesn’t want to hear it.
LaPierre equated gun controls with morality laws and disagreed that removing assault weapons from streets would save lives. The NRA leader said , “you can’t legislate morality … legislation works on the law-abiding, it doesn’t work on criminals.”
I’m assuming, changing subjects, that Mr. LaPierre has no problem with marriage equality since he doesn’t believe morality can be legislated.
p.s. – you do understand that the National Rifle Association is really about representing gun manufacturers, and not gun owners, yes?
The National Rifle Association on Friday announced it’s plan and support for putting armed police officers in every school in the country as a way to avoid tragedies like the 26 deaths at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.
“I call on Congress today to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation,” Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president, said at a press conference in Washington, D.C. There, he unveiled the National School Shield NRA Education and Training Emergency Response program, to be headed up by former Arkansas U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson.
Under the proposed program, schools would be permitted to tailor the type of security desired to their school’s situation or refuse it altogether.
“Innocent lives might have been spared,” LaPierre said, if armed security was present. “The only thing that stops bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
LaPierre, Hutchison and David Keene, president of the NRA, all declined to take questions from the press Friday and said NRA press officers won’t be responding to the media until Monday.
More at Yahoo News
After four days of self-imposed silence, the NRA has released the following statement regarding the Newtown, Connecticut shooting that left 20 children and six adults from Sandy Hook Elementary School dead:
“The National Rifle Association of America is made up of 4 million moms and dads, sons and daughters – and we were shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in Newtown.
“Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting.
“The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.
“The NRA is planning to hold a major news conference in the Washington, D.C., area on Friday, December 21.”
At present, the NRA has shut its Facebook page and has not tweeted since the shooting.
Recently in the news for urging NRA members “to ride into that battlefield and chop their heads off in November,” Ted Nugent has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and accept two years probation for illegally killing an Alaskan black bear during the filming of an episode for his hunting reality show. He also has a film a PSA about hunting.
“This PSA will discuss the importance of a hunter’s responsibility in knowing the rules and regulations of the hunting activities that they engage in, which is subject to the review and final approval, prior to any broadcast, by a representative of the United States Attorney’s Office in the District of Alaska,” the agreement says.
Nugent, who signed the document April 14, also agreed to pay the state $600 for the bear that was taken illegally, according to the agreement. He would still need to enter the plea in court and have the plea be approved by a judge.