On Friday, the NRA’s Wayne LaPierre held a news conference in which he called for armed cops in every school and blamed gun free zones, the culture of violence on TV, in the movies and in video games, inadequate mental health services, and the failure to enforce existing gun laws for the tragic massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
LaPierre should have kept his mouth shut, or if he was going to say anything about the Newtown shooting, he should have limited his remarks to the culture of violence.
The front page of the New York Post pictured LaPierre and read: ‘GUN NUT! NRA loon in bizarre rant over Newtown’ The front page of the New York Daily News also pictured LaPierre and read: ‘Just 90 MINUTES after moment of silence for Newtown victims, vile NRA nut blames everyone and everything EXCEPT the GUNS – CRAZIEST MAN ON EARTH’
I’ve called attention to the reaction of these two newspapers because neither of them is particularly liberal. The Post is owned by Rupert Murdoch, a prominent conservative who also owns the Fox News networks. I think the terms ‘loon’ and ‘nut’ were entirely appropriate in this instance.
LaPierre should have let the dust settle before opening his big mouth and putting both feet in it. He’s made other stupid statements in the past, including his opposition to the banning of so-called ‘cop killer’ bullets. I was a member of the NRA for many years, but I dropped my membership after having had my fill of LaPierre’s extreme remarks.
Considering that 20 first graders have just been slaughtered, gun rights advocates would have served their cause best by being muted in their approach to this terrible tragedy. They should have waited until the gun control advocates had calmed down before setting forth their positions. At times, silence is indeed golden!
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