The NRA has been noticeably quiet in the wake of last Friday's tragic school shooting in Newtown, but it looks like that's going to change beginning tomorrow.
First up will be the NRA press conference in Washington, D.C., where the group has promised to "offer meaningful contributions" to help ensure that what happened in Connecticut "never happens again." From there, the gun lobby's top executives will hit the Sunday talk shows to continue their PR push. NRA CEO and executive VP Wayne LaPierre will be on NBC's Meet The Press and NRA president David Keene will appear on CBS's Face The Nation.
Meanwhile, the gun rights group has returned to Twitter, albeit cautiously, and has re-published its Facebook page after taking it offline in the immediate aftermath of the shooting in Connecticut.
The NRA is going to try and obfuscate the facts and misdirect attention away from the finding any fault with America's gun culture, and easy access to deadly military style weaponry.
I imagine they will try to assign blame to video games, the failings of the mental health community, Adam Lanza's mother, and just about any other possible scapegoat.
And you know there certainly ARE other factors to take into account when considering how to prevent a similar occurrence in the future, but we know those bullets were not fired in a video game, nor were those children's bodies were not ripped to pieces by Adam's mental illness. Death came for them by way of bullets fired from a Bushmaster .223, the ammunition of which fragments upon impact in order to cause the greatest amount of tissue damage possible.
In short they were murdered by a "killing machine," and without that machine, despite anything the NRA may tell us, they would most likely still be alive and in their parents loving arms today.
So I will listen to the arguments made by the NRA, but if they think they are going to talk their way out of this, or hide their heads until it blows over, they have another think coming.
I would not be surprised if the NRA's answer to the tragedy in Connecticut is to help provide guns and lessons in using them to teachers. They are not going to offer anything meaningful or useful.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will propose a Constitutional Amendment to clarify the 2nd. Then we could start on the same page.
ReplyDeleteThe NRA has as much nerve showing its face as SP had after Gabby was shot.
ReplyDeleteBlood in on all their hands.
Come on now, video games are no more to blame than guns are for violence by Americans. And this just now from C4P
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Will Your Kids Need Bullet Proof Back Packs and Body Armor For School
December 20 2012 - 4:12 PM | By: Kevin Fobbs
Is the nation now at a point where Barbie dolls, Nintendo games, and toy soldiers are going to be replaced with pink and blue bullet proof backpacks and form fitting child size body armor under the Christmas tree?
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Where they're still obsessing over this school shooting. Go figure eh jesse!
https://twitter.com/SarahPalinUSA/status/10935548053
ReplyDeleteAnd, Americans are buying more guns - many the same as the one that kiled all those children less than a week ago!
ReplyDeleteAn Anchorage, AK gun dealer had the nerve to say on TV that he felt badly because he couldn't get the guns to his clients faster (due to having to do the check on each one!). What an idiot! He just wawnted to sell more, faster, to make more money!
The culture of America is so, so sick!
Are they going to delete anti- posts off their new page like their #1 fan Esther does hers?
ReplyDeleteASSHOLES....every last one of them!
What they should do is find out what their membership thinks, I read a good article somewhere on how and why the NRA began in the first place. It was to insure safety and promoting legislation to control the use of guns....period. I would say that original thought has been perverted like everything else by greed and fear. The root of this evil is with the manufacturers, the NRA are simply their pimps with Faux, Palin and all their ilk fueling the fires of hate and fear under the veil of hunting. Mental health monies are always going to be a problem with our bastard congress except if it steers money to the pill bastards.
ReplyDeleteI loved Rachel last night reporting on all the "buy back" projects going on now, nothing like cash to get the non committed gun owners to think more deeply about Friday. A brilliant idea (I thought of days ago) and I hope it really catches on everywhere. Diane Sawyer also did a piece on how us normal (untrained) people truly react upon emergencies...it wasn't pretty. Law enforcement professionals need to take a huge lead on this, it is just another reason to truly value them.
I admire your optimism Gryphen, but my internal pessimist tells me this:
ReplyDeleteNothing will change after the obligatory statements have been issued.
Off topic, but partially not. Buford B. A. Dumfuk tells the judge "‘No, I only know what I hear on Fox News and what I hear on radio.’”
DeleteBuford (Buford's real name is Randolph Lynn) also said “Muslims are killing Americans and trying to blow stuff up,” Linn also reportedly told the judge. “Most Muslims are terrorists and don’t believe in Jesus Christ.”
So Buford B. A. Dumfuk claimed he drank 45 beers in six hours and then went and set the mosque on fire. www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/12/20/mosque-arsonist-tells-court-i-only-know-what-i-hear-on-fox-news/
Either Buford can't count or he is a heavy drinker.
Each time I see one of the photos of the kids, I get teary eyed. Each one is so adorable in their own unique way. Their smiles, cheeky grins and mischievous looks just get to me every time.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is that the protesters should be in full force and show them, "we are mad as hell and won't take it anymore!"
ReplyDeleteSharon, the police have been doing "buy backs" for many years. Mostly to get the guns off the streets of the gangs. It slows it down for a while, only to start again. But it does take the numbers down...for a while.
ReplyDeleteThey don't do enough of them nor are they consistent in where they happen. If I could find one in IN I would empty my closets of the guns my dad left to me and pocket the cash. As it is, there hasn't been a gun buy back anywhere near where I live, ever.
DeleteAll cities and towns should have a program sponsored by the local cops to do buy backs.
Unfortunately those kids aren't "angels" but are little lives lost that will never be fully realized due to a freak with a gun he shouldn't have had. They aren't in heaven. If you truly stood by your Atheist beliefs you wouldn't bandy about terms like "angels" in your blogposts. If we realize this for what it is, then perhaps real change can happen. Talk of "angels" gets us nowhere.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the fact that they are making an announcement on a Friday means that they want to bury it. I read that in journalism, if you want to bury an announcement, then announce it on a Friday because a lot of publications have already been put to rest for the week. Why did the NRA have to wait at all if they had something to say? They could have said it on a Tuesday or a Wednesday and let the press and the public comment. Cowards all of them. And yes, they have blood on their hands. Unless they say they want to remove such deadly, military type weapons from the market, they might as well have nothing to say.
ReplyDeleteNot to mention it will be too late for Letterman, who will probably be off next week, and The Daily Show and Colbert Report, who are already doing reruns this week.
DeleteOn August 9, 2002, Charlton Heston publicly announced (via a taped message) he was diagnosed with symptoms consistent with Alzheimer's Disease.
ReplyDeleteIn announcing his resignation as president of the NRA in 2003, he again raised a rifle over his head, repeating the five famous words of his 2000 speech, "from my cold, dead hands".
The NRA could begin their press conference with that videotape and then present a plan for preventing Alzheimer's patients from getting access to assault weapons.
The Sandy Hook killings are the direct result of the NRA lobby. Politicians that take NRA money have blood on their hands.
All the waiting period and license requirements that we can impose do NOT prevent an assault weapon owner from developing a mental illness or from passing the weapon to a potential killer.
DeleteWe have to ban current sales of assault weapons. We have to make it illegal to possess them.
That "meaningful contribution" better not be defenses and excuses. If it is, our media better take them down fast and hard.
ReplyDeleteI think the only meaningful contribution the NRA intends to make is into the re-election coffers of their puppet congressmen and political apologists.
The NRA could begin their press conference with that videotape and then present a plan for preventing Alzheimer's patients from getting access to assault weapons.
ReplyDeleteyep
ot
ReplyDeleteJulian Assange:
expect more from WikiLeaks
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2012/dec/20/julian-assange-wikileaks-speech
I hope they do better than the Illinois Rifle Association did today. All they could do was put out a whine about how the Governor and Mayor Emmanual were trying to politicize the Newtown situation by calling for an assault weapons ban and thereby infringing upon the second amendment.
ReplyDeleteI just finished a constitution class and the second amendment does not guarantee you the right to carry an assault weapon or cop killer bullets. In fact, taken literally, the constitution preserves the right to form a militia. It does not give the individual inalienable rights to as many or whatever type of guns they want.
So, I think we should require gun owners to be part of the National Guard and attend training as often as the National Guard reservists have to train. This should be the price of admission to owning a gun in this country. That and they should have to carry liability insurance and proof of same or they can't own a gun. They should also have to be licensed annually and range tested every four years. Just like owning a car.
Think Switzerland. That's how they handle it.
Deletegreat day to pick to make an announcement since most of the crazies think the world will end. classic
ReplyDeleteWhen will you come to the realization that the Second Amendment isn't about hunting or plinking at the range. It's about being free from tyrants. Personal protection from criminals is a side benefit. Pass all the laws you want to keep guns from the mentally ill. But if you ban private gun ownership for responsible citizens, you're setting this country up for a fall. Here's something for you to chew on.
ReplyDeleteA LITTLE GUN HISTORY
In 1929, the Soviet Union established gun control. >From 1929 to 1953, about 20 million dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated
In 1911, Turkey established gun control. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Germany established gun control in 1938 and from 1939 to 1945, a total of 13 million Jews and others who were unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated.
China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves were rounded up and exterminated
Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, one million educated people, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
Read up on your own NRA history.
DeleteNo one's saying you can't have a gun. We're just saying you can't have any and every gun, ammo and accessory ever produced. Some of them a private person has no business owning.
Keep your shotgun. Keep your rifle.
But you can't have a grenade launcher.
And if we can, you can't have an assault rifle with a 30 round clip of armor piercing bullets.
Kill all the game you want, legally, during hunting season and with the tags you can afford.
But you're not going to rise up against our government, foment sedition or go out and kill people. I took notice of your examples. Soviet Union, Turkey, Nazi Germany, Guatemala, Uganda, Cambodia. Every example was a dictatorship or involved genocide or both. Your suggesting the U.S. government is a dictatorship out to eliminate who? White Christian Republican men?
You want to defend your home? You can do it with the shot gun or the deer rifle.
You want to start a revolution? You're in the wrong country. Try Uganda.
Defenseless people rounded up and exterminated in the 20th Century because of gun control: 56 million.
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With this type of (idiot) logic, Americans should be entitled to possess tactical nuclear weapons, surface to air missiles etc. The second amendment of the constitution does NOT give unlimited individual citizens unlimited access to weapons.
The debate is not about weapon control. We have a LOT of gun control in this country. The debate is the extent to which we control them. Assault weapons being fired in kindergartens is NOT a constitutional right.
Evidently, your 6 year old kindergarten child was not on the receiving end of an assault rifle last week. What's your plan when it happens to your kid?
DeleteIf the US government decides to round you up and exterminate you, your little pop-gun isn't going to help you. The US government has plenty of force at its disposal.
DeleteNope, I don't want to start a revolution or even hurt anybody. I just want to have a chance if somebody tries to hurt me or my family.
DeleteThe trouble with all the so called logic here is you don't want private citizens to have their own protection. You want them all unarmed. But somebody has to enforce all this. You want the government armed to protect you. So two things here. First you're admitting that someone needs to be armed to protect you. Just like Rosey O'Donald being against gun ownership, but having armed bodyguards. The problem with that is when the armed group decides they are tired of the unarmed group and forces their will or worse on them. Who keeps the armed government in check if citizens are unarmed? The armed government doesn't have to take the citizens serious any more because they have all the control. Elections? Rigggghhhttt. We'll decide what's best for you. Disagree? We'll take you out.
The founding fathers understood this. Too many today don't. They've been sucked in by a government promising to take care of everything. If you completely trust any government, you are a fool. There are examples every day of how untrustworthy they are. But be a sheep. Take your chances. Good luck with that.
My plan would be to make sure that assault rifles are unavailable to ordinary citizens, period. It sounds like a better idea than a continuing arms race that allows the general populace access to increasingly powerful military weapons whose only purpose is to kill and main human beings.
DeleteAll those people were not killed because of gun control. They were killed because human beings are killers.
DeleteRemember guns don't kill people, people kill people. There's your own "logic" turned back on you, moron.
Who keeps the armed government in check if citizens are unarmed?
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You, your little pop-gun and your pop-gun friends can keep the armed might of the United States government in check?
bwhaaaaaa
Tell that to the 82nd Airborne... or your favorite nuclear submarine.
Your ?logic? tells me one thing. You compensate for your inadequacies by cuddling your guns. The bigger the gun the smaller the penis.
I'll listen to everything they have to say, this commission was set up to explore all the options that are found on all topics, but gun control should be on top of the list.
ReplyDeleteOne of the relatives made an interesting comment at their child's funeral today, they said that all guns should be melted down and used to build a bridge. I like that metaphor, but gun control isn't about taking away anyone's guns. It's about banning "modern weapons" or whatever nomenclature they come up with.
We need to find a new name for these killing machines, because the one Adam used was automatic and it was sold legally.
I think there'll eventually be enough support, the world sees those faces just like we do, if we can save one life, it'll be worth it.
I want to rage at someone every time I hear an idiot blame a shooting or a death on video games.
ReplyDeleteMillions, maybe even a billion or two, of people play video games their entire lives and NEVER go on a violent shooting spree. I've been playing games of various levels of violence since I was 3 (24 years now), and the most violent thing I've ever done was beat up a punching bag.
So what if there are studies that say that violence in video games makes people more violent? There are also studies that say the exact opposite. You can make studies say anything you want if you slant it enough. And those same video games people blame for these shootings are being used to treat war veterans with PTSD. Explain THAT, if violent video games make you more likely to shoot someone!
Sorry. As you can probably tell, it's a personal rant trigger.