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Podcasts Take Two
NRA breaks silence about gun control and Sandy Hook
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Dec 21, 2012
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NRA breaks silence about gun control and Sandy Hook
The National Rifle Association broke its week long silence this morning at a press conference in Washington, D.C.
National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calls on Congress to pass a law putting armed police officers in every school in America during a news conference at the Willard Hotel December 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. This is the first public appearance that leaders of the gun rights group have made since a 20-year-old man used a popular assault-style rifle to slaughter 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, one week ago.
National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre calls on Congress to pass a law putting armed police officers in every school in America during a news conference at the Willard Hotel December 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. This is the first public appearance that leaders of the gun rights group have made since a 20-year-old man used a popular assault-style rifle to slaughter 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, one week ago.
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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
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National Rifle Association President David Keene, asks for a moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting at the Willard Hotel December 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. This is the first public appearance that leaders of the gun rights group have made since a 20-year-old man used a popular assult-style rifle to slaughter 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connnecticut, one week ago.
National Rifle Association President David Keene, asks for a moment of silence for the victims of the Sandy Hook shooting at the Willard Hotel December 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. This is the first public appearance that leaders of the gun rights group have made since a 20-year-old man used a popular assult-style rifle to slaughter 20 school children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connnecticut, one week ago.
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Alex Wong/Getty Images
)

The National Rifle Association broke its week long silence this morning at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

The National Rifle Association broke its week long silence this morning at a press conference in Washington, D.C.

During the talk, after which the organization refused to take questions, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre pointed to violent video games and the media frenzy that follows school shootings as contibuting to the perpetuation of these tragic events. 

In addition, he stressed the current "gun-free school zone" policy as opening the door to violent "monsters" who know a school is an easy target. LaPierre and the NRA stress that having armed guards or police in schools can prevent someone like Adam Lanza from getting inside the school.

"The only way, the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved...the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun," said LaPierre.    

LaPierre's speech was interrupted twice by protesters holding signs reading "NRA Is Killing Our Kids," and "NRA - Blood On your Hands." Protesters were promptly removed from the room.

Robert Spitzer, NRA member, chair of the the political science department at the State University of New York-Cortland and author of "The Politics of Gun Control" joins the show with analysis.