world

NRA chief slams anti-gun 'elites' after Florida school massacre

67 Comments
By Roberta Rampton and Makini Brice

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018.

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

67 Comments
Login to comment

You know there were ZERO shootings at the UN this year and none of the people at the UN had guns. Wonder why

3 ( +8 / -5 )

The head of the National Rifle Association lashed out at gun control advocates

in the NRA's latest marketing move's push for the gun makers it represents to sell even more guns. Sickness.

"The elites don't care not one whit about America's school system and school children,"

The elites? He's including parents who've buried their children, he's including parents worried about having to bury their children. What a sick man. What a sick organization. But then he's using the language he knows will appeal to his base.

Trump and the GOP represent America's big war industries who are killing people around the globe, also those industries making and selling weapons to the domestic market killing those at home. They're also helping the US funeral business. SICK!

13 ( +14 / -1 )

President Donald Trump's call to arm teachers 

Oh, yes! So, their answer to having too many guns in the community is more guns? What perfect logic that is, NOT!

12 ( +15 / -3 )

all this human garbage bag cares about is the gun manufacturers and their profits. not hunters, not the second commandment, i mean amendment, and certainly not dozens of dead kids...

14 ( +15 / -1 )

Gun control is really people control.

-14 ( +2 / -16 )

@Dango - I believe they have metal detectors to enter the UN building in NY.

The NRA has become far too extreme. The arguments on both sides have become too extreme ...which makes even finding a sensible starting point really hard. Personally, I think there are some very easy and sensible starting points (i.e. ban bump stock and semi-automatic weapons) that a large majority of Americans would support.

I fully acknowledge this is a nearly impossible problem to solve at this point in time, however more sensible gun control is absolutely needed. There is no reason for an average citizen to have an assault rifle or any type of semi automatic weapon. There is no reason for an average citizen to have a bump stock.

What makes this problem so difficult to solve is the amount of unregistered firearms that exist in the US or weapons that have changed hands and there is no longer a record of ownership.

What also makes this problem so difficult to solve is that our politicians are more worried about getting re-elected and maintaining the lavish DC lifestyle rather than solving the problem. Obviously people have pointed out Republican ties to the gun industry/lobby and these do, in fact exist. However Democrats also exhibit fear of retribution at the polls if they vote in favor of stricter gun laws (see article below). They would rather keep their cushy jobs with the all of the lavish benefits given to members of Congress rather than do what is right for their constituents.

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/374961-dems-want-gun-control-but-worry-it-could-cost-them-midterms

I am fairly liberal but not a Democrat but in this case I say to those Democrats worried about re-election, vote or act with your conscience. As for the Republicans: Most (not all) are a lost cause on this issue.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

a68 - Gun control is really people control

Oh, is that right? I’m not sure if the families of the 30,000+ people killed by guns in the US every year would agree with you.

10 ( +11 / -1 )

Yet the NRA ban guns from their conventions. ..

Wayne le Pierre is a crank.

12 ( +13 / -1 )

Simple First

Disarm the Military as they have killed millions over the years,

then

Disarm the Close Protection Details around politicians and their families, because guns do not keep you safe,

then

Disarm the Police as they seem to kill more unarmed people then armed,

then finally

Disarm the Public.

And we will all live happy ever after. ..... roflmao

-17 ( +1 / -18 )

An elitist calling out fellow elitists while the lemmings drink the kool aid. Got it.

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Sad but not unexpected. The gun fundamentalists will fight, smear and belittle any and all attempts to make Americans safe again. More children will die because of the NRA.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

of arming teachers.

I wonder how many backing this insane idea have ever been in an actual ‘gun fight’. Not watching a John Ford shoot-em-up at the saloon where only the bad guys get shot. Not a computer game or virtual reality gun fight, not a practice gun fight at a gun club, but a real gun fight where bullets are flying. 

If they have actually experienced a gun fight, they’re well aware stuff happens, and not always for the best for the good guys. 

In a teacher firing a gun in a crowded classroom scenario, there’s probably an equal or even greater likelihood of innocents being killed by bullets fired from the teacher’s gun.

But arming teachers will ensure more guns and ammo are sold. And that’s the NRA’s primary job. The NRA’s a SICK DC swamp denizen. And Tump and the GOP are their biggest boosters. Or given how much the NRA contributes to their coffers, does the NRA actually control Trump and the GOP?

8 ( +8 / -0 )

Any politician receiving a cent from this terrorist organization should be voted out.

NRA = domestic terrorists. That speech at CPAC leaves no doubt. This group and the GOP needs to be eliminated this fall. The only good republican is one that doesn't hold elected office.

7 ( +8 / -1 )

"Their goal is to eliminate the Second Amendment and our firearms freedoms so they can eradicate all individual freedoms."

What a shocking degree of hatred LaPierre shows for anyone who doesn't share his politics. He would rather believe that Democrats want to undermine the very fundamental rights of the US, as opposed to the much more conventional argument that they just want to stop innocent people from being murdered in mass shootings. How weird it must be to be so delusional as to believe that over half of the population of your country literally want to destroy it.

We're used to it online, being spouted from people funded by Russian propaganda campaigns. But for these words to come from the head of the NRA ohwait....

9 ( +9 / -0 )

If the government puts their guns away, we the people, will put ours away.

Until then, we stand our ground.

The people are allowed to own guns in Russia? That surprises me.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

 LaPierre said, It should not be easier to shoot up a school than a bank or a jewelry store, he added.

Banks and jewelry stores hold money and expensive commodities that's why they're heavily protected around the world. Schools is a gathering place for kids to get an education. In a sane society, there's really nothing in it for people to go to a school and start shooting.

La Pierre also said in that speech that "bad guys" with guns can only be stopped by "good guys" with guns. Has the American discourse about guns dropped so far that it sounds like a kindergarten or a lower grade elementary school argument? It's unbelievable to my ears to hear such an infantile comment coming from the NRA head.

The issue is complex and involves easy access to guns to anyone who suddenly "loses it", mentally disturbed individuals, or those who hold grudges. None of these people think of themselves as "bad" but - wronged.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

The NRA is nothing but the gun industry's little lap dog and this WLP guy is a real nut case. Look it up....

8 ( +8 / -0 )

... so they can eradicate all individual freedoms.

Wow. All individual freedoms? - that's pretty ambitious.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

US Gun Violence 2017

Total Number of Incidents 61,513

Number of Deaths (1) 15,593

Number of Injuries (1) 31,185

Number of Children (age 0-11)

Killed or Injured (1) 732

Number of Teens (age 12-17)

Killed or Injured (1) 3,234

Mass Shooting (2) 346

Officer Involved Incident

Officer Shot or Killed (2) 317

Officer Involved Incident

Subject-Suspect Shot or Killed (2) 2,078

Home Invasion (2) 2,524

Defensive Use (2) 2,040

Unintentional Shooting (2) 2,021

Gun violence and crime incidents are collected/validated from 2,500 sources daily – incidents and their source data are found at the gunviolencearchive.org website.

1: Actual number of deaths and injuries

2: Number of INCIDENTS reported and verified

22,000 Annual Suicides not included on Daily Summary Ledger

Numbers on this table reflect a subset of all information

collected and will not add to 100% of incidents.

www.gunviolencearchive.org www.facebook.com/gunviolencearchive

Data Validated: February 22, 2018 

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

La Pierre also said in that speech that "bad guys" with guns can only be stopped by "good guys" with guns. Has the American discourse about guns dropped so far that it sounds like a kindergarten or a lower grade elementary school argument?

It's a sign of the lack of ability to hold a nuanced opinion on a matter, that we see so much these days (to be fair, often from the left too). So many people like to try to pain everything into a binary opinion - you're either for it or against something, and everyone else needs to be either for or against something. It's low-level intelligence. It takes a degree of intelligence to understand that there can be nuanced ways of looking at a situation.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Some more quotes from this man's speech. It's disturbing stuff, like the fantasy ramblings of a person living in an alternative reality. It beggars the mind what's going on in the US right now.

"Their laws don’t stop illegal criminals from crossing our borders every single day.

Their laws don’t stop the scourge of gang violence and drug crime that savages Baltimore, Chicago and every major American community.

Their laws haven’t stopped the plague of opioids and Chinese fentanyl from Mexico that floods American streets.

Racist, misogynist, sexist, xenophobe and more – these are the weapons and vitriol these character assassins scream to permanently hang on their targets and create a growing segment of victims.

From the occupied movement to Black Lives Matter to Antifa, they agitate the offended, promote uncivil discourse.

Backed by the social engineering and the billions of people like George Soros and Michael Bloomberg.

During the Obama decade ‘a tidal wave of new European-style socialists’ have seized control of the Democratic party.

On college campuses the Communist Manifesto is one of the most frequently assigned texts.

The United States constitution is ignored, United States history is perverted and the second amendment freedom is despised.

It should not be easier for a madman to shoot up a school than a bank or a jewelry store of some Hollywood gala."

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/22/wayne-la-pierre-nra-cpac-hate-bingo

10 ( +10 / -0 )

Banning guns is not the answer. Bad guys will always get their hands on a gun for a price. Many people (not myself) enjoy range days playing with their toys. And why not? They aren't and never will be a danger to others. Why should they give up on their hobby?

Much stricter vetting and gun control is the only answer. There are so many weapons out there that the horse has already bolted.

Unfortunately...these shootings are here to stay.

-13 ( +1 / -14 )

Wow. All individual freedoms? - that's pretty ambitious.

This guy is struggling to defend a 'freedom' that is becoming untenable due to people thinking that this 'freedom' also includes the 'freedom' to buy semi-automatic rifles, walk into a school, and kill a bunch of kids who were committing the sin of getting an education. The only way he can defend the 'freedom' now, is to try to paint it that the people who want to restrict this 'freedom' want to restrict ALL freedoms. If he can get his suckers to buy into that frame of thought, they will put their whole hearts into defending this 'freedom', as they have been brainwashed into thinking the alternative is NO freedoms.

In other words, he's painting the debate into a binary choice, either people have the freedom to walk into a school and shoot kids in the face, or no freedoms whatsoever in a police state. Or in easier to understand terms, the US or North Korea.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

It's a sign of the lack of ability to hold a nuanced opinion

Back to the 1930's when the Nazis and Stalinists were each able to overpower and control discussions to the point where only opposing poles were considered.

Like both Nazis and Stalinists, Trump, the GOP and the NRA are adding class distinctions as well as globalist and nationalist concerns.

The middle ground?

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Many people (not myself) enjoy range days playing with their toys. And why not? They aren't and never will be a danger to others.

Guns aren't and never will be a danger to others? Ask the kids at that school in Florida if they agree.

12 ( +12 / -0 )

Many people (not myself) enjoy range days playing with their toys. And why not?

So you wouldn't object if these toys were retained under lock and key for use only at the range?

Bad guys will always get their hands on a gun for a price.

Agreed, but we aren't just talking about 'bad guys' here. We're talking about people having a 'bad day' who can pick up a gun from under their bed and be in a school 20 minutes later

6 ( +6 / -0 )

How could any self respecting parent support having any type of gun at their child’s school? Do repubs even care about their kids..?

5 ( +5 / -0 )

I sometimes wonder Americans are afraid of gun controls lead to loss of energy and vitality of the country. Freedom is the core of the country.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Do repubs even care about their kids..?

Only in utero. Examples abound.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Burning BushToday  07:13 am JST

If the government puts their guns away, we the people, will put ours away.

Until then, we stand our ground.

What, if it ever comes down to people with guns vs. highly trained and organised military and law enforcement agencies with guns, you think the people are going to come out on top?

7 ( +8 / -1 )

The NRA's position intentionally ignores the students, which is why they chose it. Expect an endless stream of catchphrases to follow....liberal elites, the media, exploitation. Over and over and over again.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

This issue has absolutely nothing to do with the 2nd Amendment or freedom. It has everything to do with gun sales, big money donations to politicians from gun manufacturers, the power they have to motivate the Republican base, and the lust for power at any cost, including your loved ones' lives. More fear = more money. More hate = more money. More ignorance = more money. The Republican playbook.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Trump, who has backed gun rights, suggested arming teachers during an emotional, hourlong discussion on Wednesday with people affected by school shootings,

The dude is insane.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

There are no "good guys" and "bad guys".

A "good guy" with a gun, which are easily obtained, may one day:

gets pissed at his wife for having an affair and shoots her or the lover out of rage

over-reacts to a guy yelling at him about something and gets pissed

has a heated argument at a bar and comes back and shoots the guy or bar up

over years develops a mental illness - becomes paranoid and shoots people or a group because he thinks he's "being attacked"

feel he was wronged by his boss, co-workers, teachers or school mates and goes back to "show them" they clowned the wrong guy

None of these people are "bad people". Situations happen, people lose their tempers, people get violent and if guns are within their grasp, they'll use one to back up whatever they feel is "right".

7 ( +7 / -0 )

presto345Today 09:48 am JST

Trump, who has backed gun rights, suggested arming teachers during an emotional, hourlong discussion on Wednesday with people affected by school shootings,

The dude is insane.

His twitter feed was stating "highly trained teachers".

You'll have to spend time with the navy seals to be a teacher in the US now, sounds great.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

This guy is nuts. A typical one issue zealot.

I’m not convinced he’s insane or even that he’s genuine. He comes across as an man who’d sell, or perhaps even shoot, his own children to make money.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I watched some of that speech on the internet. Sick to my stomach. 'Elites'? We're talking about ordinary children shot to death. These people have blood on their hands. Also glad Little Marco got called out by the students at another meeting - a hypocritical money-grabbing liar.

And every time LaPierre wanted to justify his arming the whole country and accuse others of taking away his 'rights', he can only come up with the dirty S word (socialists).

Did the people who write the second amendment ever think that we would have powerful guns and rifles like we do today and that they would be used not for defending people, but to kill innocent people in mass shootings?

If I'm not mistaken, the right to bear arms started in England. And now the UK doesn't allow the ordinary Joe to carry guns. Countries and cultures progress. America doesn't live in the wild west anymore.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

No wonder Russia is having an easy job of interfering with the elections. The NRA and GoP have an established echo chamber where their talking points are developed and which are then propagated through conservative's botnets and conservative's social media.

Or is conservative botnets and social media just an oxymoron.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

not to be inconvenient to the narrative or anything but where was the call for gun control when Kate Steinle was shot by an illegal alien who "found" a gun on the ground? What kind of society do we live in that a gun can just be found on the ground and "dropped" by an illegal, killing an innocent citizen.

Was total silence from Dems when that happened, except for their support of for a fair trial for the illegal.

-7 ( +0 / -7 )

not to be inconvenient to the narrative or anything but where was the call for gun control when Kate Steinle was shot by an illegal alien 

Who?

Try picking a crime we’ve actually heard of.

More manufacturered ourtrage to detract from the fact that 17 kids were just executed at school.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

Was total silence from Dems when that happened, except for their support of for a fair trial for the illegal.

They demanded a fair trial did they? Bloody leftists, not wanting an unfair trial. Did they also offer Thoughts & Prayers? Wait, aren't you politicizing this? Can we not let them grieve etc?

What kind of society do we live in that a gun can just be found on the ground and "dropped" by an illegal, killing an innocent citizen.

Answer: A society with lots of guns in it, and people who want still more.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

(President Trump) said he would push for an end to the sale of bump stocks, which allow rifles to shoot hundreds of rounds a minute. -- article

Even the NRA supports a ban on the sale of bump stocks after Las Vegas last October. If a proposed ban does go into effect, hopefully it will be grandfathered so those of us who now own them can keep them. . . .

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

That’s my point. You claim to not even have heard of the crime, mainly because the MSM totally ignored it due to (a) 6 Times deported illegal alien did it and (b) you can’t drop a gun on the ground and have it shoot someone far away.

But this school shooting is making the CNN kids into “stars”. Isn’t there anyone else who goes to this school besides the same 4 people? Any other perspectives?

-8 ( +0 / -8 )

That’s my point. You claim to not even have heard of the crime, mainly because the MSM totally ignored it

I don't watch your MSM, so it wouldn't matter whether it's suppressed or not.

You seem to be whining that everyone doens't know every story, and attribute the same anger and outrage to the store as you do. Boo-hoo.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The NRA opposes the ban on the bump stocks

That is a tough one.

Yes, but what about CNN and other elements of the MSM not reporting crimes completely unrelated to the Florida massacre?

That seems to be the best defence of it I have read up to now.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Yes, but what about CNN and other elements of the MSM not reporting crimes completely unrelated to the Florida massacre?

That seems to be the best defence of it I have read up to now.

Just wait, soon they'll come up with a better defense: "But Hillary..."

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Yeah she popped up out of the woods talking some nonsense trying to use the trauma of these kids to try to be relevant again.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

why don't they give ID cards to enter schools like we have at my office? Only people with a card can enter.

Why such a complicated issue?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

Blacklabel: But this school shooting is making the CNN kids into “stars”

You guys gave them a nickname? The CNN kids? Good move, should help discredit their message with your base.

And it's another good move with your base to make them "stars." Not victims of gun violence giving a deeply personal message, just a bunch of CNN kids on their quest for stardom.

Keep up the good work. By now your bubble should be running stories side by side, one giving the kids' message and other stories surrounding it about how they are being manipulated.

I give it three more days until the Right start to say they are the real victims.

5 ( +6 / -1 )

1) Florida governor Rick Scott -- when there was a hurricane, he was on TV CONSTANTLY. But the school shooting -- whoops! Where did he disappear to? Does anyone know where he is HIDING?? And why??

2) US senator Marco Rubio -- humiliated by a high schooler! Left with egg all over his face, unable to answer a simple "yes or no" question: "Will you be pocketing any more NRA bribes?" Here is the answer he was unable to formulate: "Yes." Shows how low the level of US senator has plunged. They have no ideas, no plans to do anything, and no intention of doing anything -- they are there just to get rich and famous. Shameful and embarrassing!

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Dango bongToday 12:58 pm JST

why don't they give ID cards to enter schools like we have at my office? Only people with a card can enter.

Why such a complicated issue?

Aren't the killings coming from the students themselves ?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Even the NRA supports a ban on the sale of bump stocks after Las Vegas last October. If a proposed ban does go into effect, hopefully it will be grandfathered so those of us who now own them can keep them. 

The NRA opposes an outright ban on bump stocks but has said it would be open to restrictions on the devices.

https://japantoday.com/category/world/trump-meets-with-students-teachers-after-gun-violence#comment-1615851

Nobody should have a bump stock, especially those that cannot get even simple facts correct.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

That’s my point. You claim to not even have heard of the crime, mainly because the MSM totally ignored it due to (a) 6 Times deported illegal alien did it and (b) you can’t drop a gun on the ground and have it shoot someone far away.

The MSM did not ignore this case. I was arguing with you and Bass about this case on a JT thread. You two seemed to think the rule of law didn't prevail because the defendant was acquitted. Of course you were right be because you both are criminal defense attorneys and read every document related to that case.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Didn't take the NRA and their acolytes long, did it?

A few days after the thoughts and prayers, then the big guns (sorry) come out. The faux compassion from the NRA and Trump, the crazy suggestion that more guns is the anwer and oh yes... the conspiracy theories, the accusations of crisis actors and so on.

Tragically predictable.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The elites are the students?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Survivors getting death threats.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/florida-school-shooting-survivor-death-threats-nra-facebook-quit-a8223146.html

As if the bloodbath wasn't horrific enough.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Wayne La Pierre is not a zealot. He is worse. He is an amoral shill for the gun industry. Good at what he does.

There is no other reason for the NRA’s existence besides money.

The NRA’s propaganda relies on stoking irrational fears. “They hate individual freedom.” Sheer nonsense.

LaPierre had better hope there’s no God.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

" President Donald Trump's call to arm teachers to prevent school shootings"

Trump made a good point. To protect good people, the good people must arm themselves, because evil people will have guns regardless of whatever laws the good people have.

That being said, I'm all for strengthening background checks and enforcing the laws already on the books.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Trump made a good point.

Oh my! No fantastic links to this? Oh my!

Your captain is caught in a trap; He's in hock to the NRA, the Russians, Oil, Coal, you name it. He owes them all one. And now he has no room to maneuvre. So he'll promise one thing but do nothing, as he has done for a year. The swamp gets deeper & smellier. Oh my!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

plasticmonkey: Wayne La Pierre is not a zealot. He is worse. He is an amoral shill for the gun industry. Good at what he does.

LaPierre is crazy. His whole thing is promoting a paranoia situation where the government collapses and the minorities come for you and your family and the only thing that will save you is your gun. Just straight-up end of the world kind of stuff.

One big stumbling block that no one really talks about is the level of fear some gun owners have and their inability to function in regular society without lethal force being attached to their body when they leave their house. Those are the kinds of guys who will fight until the death to keep their gun because their fear levels would be too much for them to handle.

Back in my old apartment I saw a guy with sweatshorts and a undershirt taking his garbage to the dumpster....with his gun belt around his waist. Obviously he had put it on for the 50 feet of outdoor walking he had to do from his apartment to the dumpster. The world must be an absolutely terrifying place for him, and I just don't see how he could live without his gun.

Serrano: I'm all for strengthening background checks and enforcing the laws already on the books.

With or without loopholes around them?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Whatever happened to drain the Swamp ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

The NRA is in conflict with today's Humanity ? So who funds them... perhaps the solution should be to go after the Corporations that fund or are associated with the NRA ?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Or the individual wealthy persons... who may have more Social standing to lose by being associated with the NRA than by being outside of their influence.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites