David Gregory Shocked By NRA’s LaPierre: You Fly In The Face Of Common Sense [View all]

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http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/12/23/1374631/david-gregory-shocked-by-nras-lapierre-you-fly-in-the-face-of-common-sense/

David Gregory Shocked By NRA’s LaPierre: You Fly In The Face Of Common Sense

By Adam Peck on Dec 23, 2012 at 10:51 am

During Sunday’s Meet the Press, the National Rifle Association’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre sat down with host David Gregory and defended his organization’s universally panned call for armed guards to be stationed at every school in the country.

The NRA’s tone-deaf press conference on Friday has been widely criticized by all corners of the political arena, and several commentators were quick to point out that armed guards stationed at Columbine High School, Virginia Tech and Fort Hood in Texas were all unable to prevent mass shootings. But LaPierre dismissed those cases on Sunday, and said that lawmakers should be willing to try anything that might work. Anything, noted David Gregory, so long as it doesn’t involve guns and ammunition:

GREGORY:This is a matter of logic, Mr. LaPierre, because anybody watching this is going to say ‘hey wait a minute. I just heard Mr. LaPierre say that the standard is we should try anything that might reduce the violence. And you’re telling me that it’s not a matter of common sense that if you don’t have an ability to shoot off 30 rounds without reloading, that just possibly you could reduce the loss of life? Would Adam Lanza have been able to shoot as many kids if he didn’t have as much ammunition?’

LAPIERRE: I don’t buy your argument for a minute.

Watch it @ link~

NRA-ally and former Congressman Asa Hutchison was equally dismissive of a debate on gun control during an interview on ABC’s This Week. “I would make the point when it comes to more restrictions on firearms in our society…I think that is really the wrong debate to have,” he said on Sunday. Hutchison has been selected by the NRA to head their campaign to put a gun in every school

But the debate is coming. Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA) has already promised to introduce a bill that will limit one’s ability to own assault weapons and high-capacity clips like the ones used by the shooters at Sandy Hook and Aurora Colordao this year, but LaPierre called it “”a phony piece of legislation” and said that it was “all built on lies.”

The NRA has been busy in the last few days putting out fires, and has watched as several staunch pro-gun lawmakers — like Republican Senator Susan Collins and Democratic Senator Mark Warner — have announced that they would be open to a conversation on additional regulations on the industry. And even the organization’s 4 million members are in favor of stricter regulations on who can own and purchase guns.