NRA Calls for Armed Guards at Nation's Schools
Weighing in on a national debate about gun control that was ignited by last week’s slaying of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut, the National Rifle Association on Friday called for armed guards to be stationed at schools throughout the country.
Like airports and banks, schools also are important facilities that should be protected by armed guards, said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA’s executive vice president at a press conference in the nation’s capital. He also blamed news coverage and violence on television and in movies and video games for creating a culture in which such crimes are occurring more frequently, reports the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.).
“The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters, people that are so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can ever possibly comprehend them,” said LaPierre. Arguing that more laws won’t be effective in containing this threat, he said “The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.”
The NRA’s website provides a transcript (PDF) of LaPierre’s comments.
Additional and related coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Gun Control Debate Gains Traction as Obama Appoints Task Force in Wake of Conn. School Slayings”
Fox News: “NRA chief urges armed guards in ‘every single school,’ dismisses calls for gun control”
Politics Now (Los Angeles Times): “A defiant NRA calls for armed guards in every school”
Reuters: “NRA wants armed guards in schools”
