Massacre at Elementary School in USA

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by Lomac

Population difference
35 million vs 310 million

the percentage rate is where its at though and the US' is worse than Libya, India, Iran, Niger, etc etc etc; it matches Georgia (for murder) and for gun related deaths the US is just under South Africa and twice the rate of Canada and 37X the rate of the United Kingdom

[Meowjin]

Originally Posted by Lomac

Population difference
35 million vs 310 million

Health care
You'd be surprised at how many companies in Canada actually offer free psychiatrist sessions, whereas in the USA mental health is still considered a relatively taboo subject that a lot of health care companies don't like to touch.

Second Ammendment
Hate to say, but the "right to bear arms" plays partially into it... If someone feels entitled to something that's "rightfully" theirs, they're gonna take it, even if they don't need to. That sort of attitude doesn't necessarily mean that they have the same sort of healthy respect for firearms that Canadians may have (not to say all Americans are gun-toting yahoo's and all Canadians are law-abiding, upstanding citizens... but the stereotype does exist for a reason)

PSYCHIATRISTS ARE COVERED UNDER MSP

PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE NOT.

[Lomac]

Originally Posted by Meowjin

PSYCHIATRISTS ARE COVERED UNDER MSP

PSYCHOLOGISTS ARE NOT.

I actually meant psychologist. And I was referring to the fact that many companies give free access to them, not that they're covered by MSP

Originally Posted by Graeme S

So I have a question--a serious one, not a flippant one, hopefully. What's the difference between an American with a second-amendment entitlement mentality, and the dude who was busted at the bar? Because when i think about that guy, I think he's probably the same kind of guy who would get busted with a DUI or have his license suspended and drive anyways "'cause I just gotta drive, and they can't tell me I can't!". If that makes any sense.

I think the main difference between the two is that a person who picks up a gun illegally can probably correctly be argued that they intend to use it for means that are less than legit. Chances are he wasn't planning on hunting deer with a handgun. A second-ammendment entitled person may have a cavalier attitude towards firearms, but they likely aren't going to carry it around with designs in mind about robbing a bank or protecting themselves from a drug deal gone wrong.

Originally Posted by StylinRed

the percentage rate is where its at though and the US' is worse than Libya, India, Iran, Niger, etc etc etc; it matches Georgia (for murder) and for gun related deaths the US is just under South Africa and twice the rate of Canada and 37X the rate of the United Kingdom

I never claimed it was a legitimate answer. I was just throwing various differences out between USA and Canada.

Personally I don't agree with the concept that "the more guns there are in civilians hands, the less likely crime will occur." Obviously banning guns outright simply means that the only people to carry firearms would be law enforcement personnel, legal bodyguard companies and criminals. I don't doubt that by banning guns that you'd likely prevent a couple random shootings but, by looking at the bigger picture, all you're doing is avoiding the bigger problem: Why are people doing these shootings?

Looking at the USA by itself, it has some giant economic and social issues that is polarizing many people. Firearm murders in the USA are actually dropping over the last few years, but in cities where there are huge problems at play, like Detroit, gun-related crimes are actually rising significantly. One would think that there's a reason for why certain areas have a spike in these states when the overall trend is dropping.

I dunno, I'm tired and I'm quickly losing my focus...

Just one last thing to think about, though:

2009 stats from the Brady Act:

150,000 -- Brady Act background checks in 2009 that led to the rejection of a potential gun buyer's application.

39 -- Percentage of applications denied by states because of a felony conviction or indictment.

So obviously it is working somewhat. I would say it's not enough, but at least not everyone applying for a weapon is getting 'em...

[Yodamaster]

Originally Posted by Graeme S

Then we have to ask ourselves: if gun access isn't the difference, then what is? If it's possible for people to acquire guns just as easily here than there, then why is our gun violence and public-space-shooting rate so much lower?

My knee-jerk reaction is gun laws, but if it is as you say then I'm wrong--so what's our answer?

Lack of health care for mentally ill citizens. Though the actual difference in shooting deaths is influenced by the population gap between Canada and the United States to some extent.

I was seriously depressed when I was younger, the help I recieved changed my life. Having somebody to just talk to in private makes a world of difference, I can't imagine what it would feel like to not having access to that kind of help.

The majority of people with mental issues attempt to hide most of their outward emotions regarding their problems. It doesn't go away, it simply compounds, and when you have enough negative thoughts trapped inside, you do something you shouldn't have.

The problem is, that lack of help is a jarring reality in the U.S, and it leads to a lot of social unrest given the population. Given the prevalence of illegal and improperly stored legal firearms, it creates a perfect storm for tradegies such as this.

You don't need restrictions on the guns (take that in moderation), you need restrictions on how the guns are aquired and treated (wherever they are stored). The mother of the shooter did not have the guns locked away safely (in addition to a lack of trigger locks), and as such, were stolen and used for a crime with ease.

Canada has a fairly efficient system, not just anybody can aquire a firearm, you have to prove that you can respect the gun, and that you are healthy enough to own one. While I disagree with some grey areas that the government has chosen to enforce in terms of the firearms available, I do not disagree that the method required to obtain them is probably the safest and most effective there is.

[THORISHERE]

There is a very thoroughly researched book called "Columbine" in which the author spent many years investigating what exactly happened at Columbine high-school where 15 people were killed. In short, after his exhaustive study, he concluded that in large part the two teenagers that were involved in the massacre were suffering from psychological disorders for which they were taking prescription drugs to ameliorate (these drugs themselves may have had side effects that contributed to the shooting). The author posited that if our society was better informed about the psychological/neurological pathologies that affect many people in our communities, and invested in the care and treatment of these individuals, tragedies like that which took place at Columbine high school could be significantly reduced in the future.

Lastly, my thoughts on guns is that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Instead of using violence (through government) to limit people's right to protect themselves and their families, we could be much better off using our resources to build healthier communities. Case in point, Switzerland has really high rates of gun ownership and it's a very safe and prosperous.

[ziggyx]

Just saw on the news that an 11 year old kid carried a gun to school after the whole incident. The kid said it was for his own safety or something. Thats pretty unbelivable..
Posted via RS Mobile

[StylinRed]

^^^^ can thank the parents for scaring the shit out of him into thinking he'd need to take one for protection and leaving a gun where he has access to it

[Gh0stRider]

Originally Posted by ziggyx

Just saw on the news that an 11 year old kid carried a gun to school after the whole incident. The kid said it was for his own safety or something. Thats pretty unbelivable..
Posted via RS Mobile

11-year-old US boy arrested after bringing gun to school, cites fear of mass shooting



A Utah sixth-grader caught with a gun at school told administrators he brought the weapon to defend himself in case of an attack similar to last week's mass shooting at a Connecticut school, officials said Tuesday.

The 11-year-old was being held in juvenile detention on suspicion of possessing a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault after other students at the suburban Salt Lake City elementary school told police he threatened them with the handgun.



Read more: 11-year-old US boy arrested after bringing gun to school, cites fear of mass shooting

[Bonjour43MA]

Originally Posted by StylinRed

how can you point to exceptions to the rule and act as if that's damning evidence that gun control doesn't work? of course there will be cases in which guns are illegally acquired especially when our next door neighbour has a free flow of them

our problem in Canada with illegally acquired guns isn't our lack of control over it within the country but rather our borders with the united states allowing a free flow of illegal weapons to be smuggled over

and that guy in your article was caught and is being prosecuted; that same article can be used as an example of how gun control works even against those who illegally acquire them...

so, if our problem is the flow of illegal guns coming from across the border, how are these gun laws stopping them from coming in? Oh wait, they aren't! because criminals don't obey laws. Everything in the Firearms Act is for those that abide by them - legal gun owners!

then, "exception to the rule"? Isn't EVERY mass shooting an exception to the rule? the whole point of gun control, from the anti-gun perspective, is that by eliminating guns or making it extremely difficult to acquire them, there would be NO shootings. The example given by RRxStar is perfect in showing that, even with our strict gun laws in Canada, this guy somehow was able to get a gun illegally, loaded it, and brought it to a pub. Thankfully he didn't shoot anyone with it. According to your logic (that gun control "works"), this should've NEVER happened, right? but no, it did!

These laws are supposed to be preventative measures and not just there to give out sentences to those that break them. In this case, the guy had:

- no license
- no permission to acquire and posses a gun
- no permission to bring a loaded gun to public venues
- no fear of being prosecuted
- no regard for the laws that are in place that's supposed to deter him from doing everything mentioned above

how could you say that gun control works when he broke every single one of them?

Gun laws make it difficult for law abiding citizens to acquire guns (for hunting, target shooting, sport shooting, collecting, etc), but they do very little in getting guns out of criminals' hands (duh! criminals don't care about these laws!).

You also mentioned that "most mass shooters, or "good people", went crazy with their legally acquired guns" - by saying that you basically painted everyone with a firearms license with the same brush, marking them as "potential criminals/crazies". Well, there are 2 million of them in Canada, legally, so I suggest you run and hide because they're everywhere, and they're all a bunch of ticking time bombs waiting to explode! Scary!

People don't just "go crazy" and start shooting others, they "go crazy" after suffering mental illness for a long period of time and got to the tipping point where they had no choice (in their mind) but to kill, so that they can get noticed to receive help. I am very certain that if guns didn't exist, we'd be talking about swords, knives, crossbows, etc, trying to figure out how to restrict them, ban them, or control the heck out of them, because the world can be a better place without them, right....?

Sounds like a familiar discussion to me.

[rsx]

Originally Posted by Gh0stRider

11-year-old US boy arrested after bringing gun to school, cites fear of mass shooting



A Utah sixth-grader caught with a gun at school told administrators he brought the weapon to defend himself in case of an attack similar to last week's mass shooting at a Connecticut school, officials said Tuesday.

The 11-year-old was being held in juvenile detention on suspicion of possessing a dangerous weapon and aggravated assault after other students at the suburban Salt Lake City elementary school told police he threatened them with the handgun.



Read more: 11-year-old US boy arrested after bringing gun to school, cites fear of mass shooting

This quote was especially troubling

“He pulled out a gun and put it to my head. He said he was gonna kill us. I told him I was gonna go tell. He said, if you tell I’m gonna kill you.”
-http://americablog.com/2012/12/kid-brings-gun-to-school-sandy-hook.html

[iEatClams]

Anxious parents buy armoured backpacks, gun lovers stock up on assault weapons

SALT LAKE CITY -- The reaction to the deadly Connecticut school shooting can be seen at gun stores and self-defence retailers across the nation, with anxious parents buying armored backpacks for children and firearms enthusiasts stocking up on assault weapons in anticipation of tighter gun control measures.

A spike in gun sales is common after a mass shooting, but the latest rampage has generated record sales in some states, particularly of rifles similar to the AR-15 the gunman used in an attack Friday on Sandy Hook Elementary School that killed 26 people, including 20 children.

Colorado set a single-day record for gun background check requests the day after the shootings, while Nevada saw more checks in the two days that followed than any other weekend this year. Records were also set in Tennessee, California and Virginia, among others.

Some gun shop owners stopped selling their remaining stock of military-style rifles, anticipating only more interest and value after President Barack Obama on Wednesday instructed his administration to create concrete proposals to reduce gun violence.

Robert Akers, a Rapid City, S.D., gun seller who specializes in such rifles, said the rush of customers had transformed his Rapid Fire Firearms store into a "madhouse" and that he's not actively selling the guns and has turned off his phone.

"The price is only going to go up higher," he said.

There was also an unusual increase in sales for armored backpacks designed to shield children caught in shootings, according to three companies that make them.

The armor inserts fit into the back panel of a child's backpack, and sell for up to $400, depending on the retailer. The armor is designed to stop bullets from handguns, not assault weapons like the one used in the shooting at the Newtown, Conn., school.

Still, the manufacturers and some parents say that while they don't guarantee children won't be killed, they could still be used as shields.

Ken Larson, 41, of Denver, Colo., already had an armored backpack for himself and persuaded his wife to buy one for their 1-year-old after the latest shootings. He knows the backpack won't guarantee his son's safety. But, he added, it was a worthy precaution.

"It's a no brainer. My son's life is invaluable," Larson said. "If I can get him a backpack for $200 that makes him safer, I don't even have to think about that."

Some experts, however, say sending children to school in armored backpacks is not a healthy response to fear about mass shootings. Anne Marie Albano, psychiatry director at Columbia University's Clinic for Anxiety and Related Disorders, said parents should convey calmness, not anxiety.

"This is not serving to keep children safe," she said. "This is serving to increase their fear and their suspicion of their peers."

At Amendment II in Salt Lake City, sales of its children's backpacks and armored inserts have increased, with 200 purchase requests Wednesday alone.

"The incident last week highlights the need to protect our children," said co-owner Derek Williams. "We didn't get in this business to do this. But the fact is that our armor can help children just as it can help soldiers."

Kerry Clark, president of Texas-based Backpackshield.com, began making the backpacks after the deadly mass shooting at Virginia Tech in 2007. Clark said he sold 15 backpacks Wednesday. Prior to Friday's shooting, he said, the company would sometimes go an entire month and just sell one.

"It's the busiest I've seen it in my life," he said.

Bullet Blocker, a Massachusetts-based company that sells the backpack armor, declined to provide sales numbers but noted that recent sales were substantially more than normal.

Sales of assault weapons also were on the rise.

Austin Cook, general manager of Hoover Tactical Firearms in suburban Birmingham, Ala., said the spike in sales since Friday's shootings has been so intense that federal background checks that typically take five minutes or less are now taking up to an hour.

Cook said about 50 people were waiting in line for his store to open the morning after the shootings, and that he's since sold nearly all of his assault weapons. Now, he's trying to find more distributors.

"I can't keep them in the store," Cook said.

In Pittsburgh, Dick's Sporting Goods said it was suspending sales of modern rifles nationwide because of the shooting. The company also said it's removing all guns from display at its store closest to Newtown.

Aaron Byrd, co-owner of Patriot Shooting Sports in Youngsville, N.C., is sold out of the AR-15 rifles, ammo for those types of guns and high-capacity magazines.

"Things have been crazy the past couple of days. A lot of people have been coming in looking to purchase semiautomatic rifles. They're worried that the government's going to ban semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity magazines, so they've been coming in looking for those," he said.

He added, "I think it is a knee-jerk reaction by both parties - both the government and the citizens."



Read more: Anxious parents buy armoured backpacks, gun lovers stock up on assault weapons

[stewie]

Originally Posted by ziggyx

Just saw on the news that an 11 year old kid carried a gun to school after the whole incident. The kid said it was for his own safety or something. Thats pretty unbelivable..
Posted via RS Mobile

earlier on the news i saw it saying how some teachers keep firearms in their classrooms.

i dont know about all kids, but i know damn well when i was younger, after the teacher would confiscate something i had and put it in her desk...the moment she got up to leave the room, a few kids would run up and get their stuff back. i dont even want to imagine what a shit disturbing 9 year old would do if they found a loaded gun in a teachers desk..

it should be mandatory for all firearms to have a trigger lock that opens with a key, and the key to be on the registered owner at all times. to top it off, law enforcement should do random check ups to make sure the firearms are being stored in a safe manner.

ive a trigger lock on all my firearms, not key locks, just the locks where you put in 3 numbers...and anyone with 15 minutes to kill can easily open it...sooner or later your going to get the right number...but then again, all my firearms are inside a gun safe with trigger locks, and the only 2 people with a key to the safe are my dad and myself.

[trollface]

To be fair, we're are required to have locks on them. Just wondering, why safe + trigger locks?

[stewie]

Originally Posted by trollface

To be fair, we're are required to have locks on them. Just wondering, why safe + trigger locks?

sorry, i was trying to say a trigger lock that requires a key to open it.

since i only have locks that require the sliding 3 numbers, if anyone were to ever get their hands on it, an easy 15 minutes of going throung 1-1-1 no 1-1-2 no etc would unlock the gun. so for that reason, i also have a safe...just for added safety measures.

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by Bonjour43MA

so, if our problem is the flow of illegal guns coming from across the border, how are these gun laws stopping them from coming in? Oh wait, they aren't! because criminals don't obey laws. Everything in the Firearms Act is for those that abide by them - legal gun owners!

the laws aren't made to prevent smugglers, but they do allow the seizure and imprisonment of those that do smuggle them in; never said our laws were perfect

then, "exception to the rule"? Isn't EVERY mass shooting an exception to the rule? the whole point of gun control, from the anti-gun perspective, is that by eliminating guns or making it extremely difficult to acquire them, there would be NO shootings.

the hope is that there would be no shootings but laws need to be a lot more strict for that to happen; it's not like we don't see them working elsewhere where there is virtually no shootings yearly

The example given by RRxStar is perfect in showing that, even with our strict gun laws in Canada, this guy somehow was able to get a gun illegally, loaded it, and brought it to a pub. Thankfully he didn't shoot anyone with it. According to your logic (that gun control "works"), this should've NEVER happened, right? but no, it did!

you're assuming our laws are strict in Canada, they aren't, not imo especially with our loose borders and neighbour that leaves guns laying around for the picking

- no license
- no permission to acquire and posses a gun
- no permission to bring a loaded gun to public venues
- no fear of being prosecuted
- no regard for the laws that are in place that's supposed to deter him from doing everything mentioned above

how could you say that gun control works when he broke every single one of them?

he bypassed the laws, gun control works for the majority and they help in prosecuting and seizing those that bypass or break them

Gun laws make it difficult for law abiding citizens to acquire guns (for hunting, target shooting, sport shooting, collecting, etc), but they do very little in getting guns out of criminals' hands (duh! criminals don't care about these laws!).

good they should make it difficult; of course "thugs, gangsters, et al" may still get their hands on them but they're not the ones performing mass shootings the ones that are doing that are the seemingly law abiding US citizen whose able to get their hands on guns due to the lax gun laws; harsher sentences and stricter laws/screening will prevent that... it's not like we don't have evidence of it working... hell its working even in Canada compared to the USA and the UK is doing it far better than the both of us

You also mentioned that "most mass shooters, or "good people", went crazy with their legally acquired guns" - by saying that you basically painted everyone with a firearms license with the same brush, marking them as "potential criminals/crazies". Well, there are 2 million of them in Canada, legally, so I suggest you run and hide because they're everywhere, and they're all a bunch of ticking time bombs waiting to explode! Scary!

no it doesn't paint everyone as crazies.... not that they are or aren't... it shows that laws need to be stricter to weed out the crazies in the USA; we don't have anywhere near the problem the USA does... i get the feeling you're blurring lines of the conversation about the USA with Canada

People don't just "go crazy" and start shooting others, they "go crazy" after suffering mental illness for a long period of time and got to the tipping point where they had no choice (in their mind) but to kill, so that they can get noticed to receive help. I am very certain that if guns didn't exist, we'd be talking about swords, knives, crossbows, etc, trying to figure out how to restrict them, ban them, or control the heck out of them, because the world can be a better place without them, right....?

no we have evidence that that's not true at all...

[Hondaracer]

What do "stiffer sentences" do to somone who doesn't care about living..
Posted via RS Mobile

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

What do "stiffer sentences" do to somone who doesn't care about living..
Posted via RS Mobile

stiffer sentences for the common criminal since bonjour brought that into the discussion

common criminals want to live; and as seen in japan and the uk it is a deterrent to that category (minimum 5 years in the uk for a gun and up to 4 years for a knife; Japan up to 10 years)

[Hondaracer]

I completely agree with that, however that doesn't prevent these instances
Posted via RS Mobile

[RRxtar]

brb 10 years in prison for suicide bombers.

[StylinRed]

Originally Posted by Hondaracer

I completely agree with that, however that doesn't prevent these instances
Posted via RS Mobile

not directly it doesn't but it helps in keeping illegal guns off the street so whackos who aren't able to get a gun legally will also have a tougher time to get illegal ones since they likely won't be as accessible as they are especially in the US

[shawnly1000]

NRA: "Only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"; suggesting schools need armed security

Only in America do you get such logic (or lack thereof)...

[Tapioca]

^ Did anyone really expect a different response from the NRA.

To their credit, the NRA did criticize the impact of violence in video games and TV.
Posted via RS Mobile

[InvisibleSoul]

Originally Posted by shawnly1000

NRA: "Only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun"; suggesting schools need armed security

Only in America do you get such logic (or lack thereof)...

And he would like that done by the time kids get back from Christmas break.

There are over 130,000 schools in the US. So he wants there to magically be 130,000 new gun-toting guards hired and on duty within two weeks.

Let's say each gets paid an annual salary of $50,000. That's only $6.5B per year... pocket change!

Forget about the logistics. Would this even help?

So if there was an armed guard at every school, I would think that any potential killer would take them out first in a surprise attack... thus not changing anything.

So what then? Two armed guards at every school?

I haven't really had a stance on this issue. I just hate stupidity.

[Traum]

Pretty funny how a marketing expert is openly dissing these NRA guys:

NRA’s comments are ‘arrogant’: prof | News1130

“What it is is a full defensive mode… it’s the same defensive mode that got Exxon Valdez people in trouble past their eyeballs. It does not work. We have taught… do not use this approach. This guys are dumber than bricks.”

“I would not take their intellectual ability, strategically, to a dog fight,” he says.

Meredith adds he’s never watched anything this disastrous in the 45 years he’s been teaching and studying public relations.

[Graeme S]

The full transcript of the NRA's conference:

No TL;DR, read for yourself and take from it what you will. I worry that a TL;DR would be influenced by my personal take on the issue.

DAVID KEENE, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: Good morning. I’m Dave Keene, president of the National Rifle Association of America.

And I’d like to welcome you here this morning for the purposes of beginning our discussion of the topic that’s been on the mind of American parents across this country, and that is, what do we do about the tragedies of the sort that struck in Newtown, Connecticut -- to avoid such events in the future?

Like most Americans, we were shocked by what happened. Like all Americans, we’ve been discussing all of the various options that are available to protect our children, and at this point we would like to share our thinking with you.

And for that purpose I’d like to introduce Wayne LaPierre, our executive vice president.

Thank you again for being with us.

And at the end of this conference we will not be taking questions, but next week we will be available to any of you who are interested in talking about these or other issues of interest to you, so contact us, please, at that point.

Thank you very much.

Wayne?

WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, NRA: Good morning.

The National Rifle Association -- 4 million mothers, fathers, sons and daughters -- join the nation in horror, outrage, grief, and earnest prayer for the families of Newtown, Connecticut, who have suffered such an incomprehensible loss as a result of this unspeakable crime.

Out of respect for the families and until the facts are known, the NRA has refrained from comment.

While some have tried to exploit tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectably silent. Now, we must speak for the safety of our nation’s children.

LAPIERRE: Because for all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, no one, nobody has addressed the most important, pressing and immediate question we face: How do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way that we know works?

The only way to answer that question is to face the truth. Politicians pass laws for gun free school zones, they issue press releases bragging about them. They post signs advertising them. And, in doing so, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk.

How have our nation’s priorities gotten so far out of order. Think about it. We care about our money, so we protect our banks with armed guards. American airports, office buildings, power plants, court houses, even sports stadiums are all protected by armed security.

LAPIERRE: We care about our president, so we protect him with armed Secret Service agents. Members of Congress work in offices surrounded by Capitol Police officers. Yet, when it comes to our most beloved, innocent, and vulnerable members of the American family, our children, we as a society leave them every day utterly defenseless, and the monsters and the predators of the world know it, and exploit it.

That must change now. The truth is...

PROTESTER: (inaudible) stop killing our children. It’s the NRA and -- the assault weapons that are killing our children, not (inaudible) teacher. We’ve got to end (inaudible). We’ve got to end the violence. We’ve got to stop the killers, stop the killing our children, stop killing our (inaudible) stop killing in our streets.

The NRA is killing our children. We’ve got to stop the violence, and violence begins with the NRA. Stating the true facts that they are the perpetrators of the violence that is taking place in our schools and on our streets.

LAPIERRE: 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 every possibly comprehend them. They walk among us every single day, and does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn’t planning his attack on a school, he’s already identified at this very moment?

LAPIERRE: How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame from a national media machine that rewards them with wall-to-wall attention and a sense of identity that they crave, while provoking others to try to make their mark.

A dozen more killers, a hundred more? How can we possibly even guess how many, given our nation’s refusal to create an active national database of the mentally ill? The fact is this: That wouldn’t even begin to address the much larger, more lethal criminal class -- killers, robbers, rapists, gang members who have spread like cancer in every community across our nation.

Meanwhile, while that happens, federal gun prosecutions have decreased by 40 percent, to the lowest levels in a decade. So now, due to a declined willingness to prosecute dangerous criminals, violent crime is increasing again for the first time in 19 years. Add another hurricane, terrorist attack, or some other natural of manmade disaster, and you’ve got a recipe for a national nightmare of violence and victimization.

LAPIERRE: And here’s another dirty little truth that the media try their best to conceal. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like “Bullet Storm,” “Grand Theft Auto,” “Mortal Combat,” and “Splatterhouse.”

And here’s one, it’s called “Kindergarten Killers.” It’s been online for 10 years. How come my research staff can find it, and all of yours couldn’t? Or didn’t want anyone to know you had found it? Add another hurricane, add another natural disaster. I mean we have blood-soaked films out there, like “American Psycho,” “Natural Born Killers.” They’re aired like propaganda loops on Splatterdays and every single day.

1,000 music videos, and you all know this, portray life as a joke and they play murder -- portray murder as a way of life. And then they all have the nerve to call it entertainment. But is that what it really is? Isn’t fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography? In a race to the bottom, many conglomerates compete with one another to shock, violate, and offend every standard of civilized society, by bringing an even more toxic mix of reckless behavior, and criminal cruelty right into our homes. Every minute, every day, every hour of every single year.

LAPIERRE: A child growing up in America today witnesses 16,000 murders, and 200,000 acts of violence by the time he or she reaches the ripe old age of 18. And, throughout it all, too many in the national media, their corporate owners, and their stockholders act as silent enablers, if not complicit co-conspirators.

Rather than face their own moral failings, the media demonize gun owners.

PROTESTER: (OFF-MIKE) coming from the NRA.

The NRA has blood on its hands. The NRA has blood on its hands. Shame on the NRA.

Ban assault weapons now. Ban assault weapons now. NRA (inaudible) assault weapons now.

(CROSSTALK)

PROTESTER: Mr. LaPierre, what is reaction to this?

LAPIERRE: Rather than face -- rather than face their own moral failings the media demonize lawful gun owners, amplify their cries for more laws, and fill the national media with misinformation and dishonest thinking that only delay meaningful action, and all but guarantee that the next atrocity is only a news cycle away.

LAPIERRE: The media calls semi-automatic fire arms, machine guns. They claim these civilian semi-automatic fire arms are used by the military. They tell us that the .223 is one of the most powerful rifle calibers, when all of these claims are factually untrue, they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Worse, they perpetuate the dangerous notion that one more gun ban or one more law imposed on peaceable, lawful people will protect us where 20,000 other laws have failed.

As brave and heroic and as self-sacrificing as those teachers were in those classrooms and as prompt and professional and well- trained as those police were when they responded, they were unable -- through no fault of their own, unable to stop it.

As parents we do everything we can to keep our children safe. It’s now time for us to assume responsibility for our schools. The only way -- the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection.

The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away or from a minute away?

LAPIERRE: Now, I can imagine the headlines, the shocking headlines you’ll print tomorrow. “More guns,” you’ll claim, “are the NRA’s answer to everything.” Your implication will be that guns are evil and have no place in society, much less in our schools.

But since when did “gun” automatically become a bad word? A gun in the hands of a Secret Service agent protecting our president isn’t a bad word. A gun in the hands of a soldier protecting the United States of America isn’t a bad word. And when you hear your glass breaking at three a.m. and you call 9/11, you won’t be able to pray hard enough for a gun in the hands of a good guy to get there fast enough to protect you.

So, why is the idea of a gun good when it’s used to protect the president of our country or our police, but bad when it’s used to protect our children in our schools? They’re our kids. They’re our responsibility. And it’s not just our duty to protect them, it’s our right to protect them.

LAPIERRE: You know, five years ago after the Virginia Tech tragedy, when I said we should put armed security in every school, the media called me crazy. But what if -- what if when Adam Lanza started shooting his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School last Friday, he’d been confronted by qualified armed security? Will you at least admit it’s possible that 26 little kids, that 26 innocent lives might have been spared that day? Is it so important to you (inaudible) would rather continue to risk the alternative? Is the press and the political class here in Washington D.C. so consumed by fear and hatred of the NRA and American gun owners, that you’re willing to accept the world, where real resistance to evil monsters is alone, unarmed school principal left to surrender her life, her life, to shield those children in her care.

No one. No one, regardless of personal, political prejudice has the right to impose that sacrifice.

Ladies and gentlemen, there’s no national one size fits all solution to protecting our children. But do know that this president zeroed out school emergency planning grants in last year’s budget and scrapped Secure Our Schools policing grants in next year’s budget.

With all the foreign aid the United States does, with all the money in the federal budget, can’t we afford to put a police officer in every single school? Even if they did that, politicians have no business and no authority denying us the right, the ability, and the moral imperative to protect ourselves and our loved ones from harm.

LAPIERRE: Now, the National Rifle Association knows there are millions of qualified and active retired police, active, Reserve, and retired military, security professionals, certified firefighters, security professionals, rescue personnel, an extraordinary corps of patriotic, trained, qualified citizens to join with local school officials and police in devising a protection plan for every single school.

We could deploy them to protect our kids now. We can immediately make America’s schools safer, relying on the brave men and women in America’s police forces. The budgets -- and you all know this, everyone in the country knows this -- of our local police departments are strained, and the resources are severely limited, but their dedication and courage is second to none. And, they can be deployed right now.

I call on Congress today, to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. And, to do it now to make sure that blanket safety is in place when our kids return to school in January.

Before Congress reconvenes, before we engage in any lengthy debate over legislation, regulation, or anything else, as soon as our kids return to school after the holiday break, we need to have every single school in America immediately deploy a protection program proven to work and by that I mean armed security.

LAPIERRE: Right now today every school in the United States should plan meetings with parents, school administrators, teachers, local authorities and draw upon every resource that’s out there and available to erect a cordon of protection around our kids right now.

Every school is gonna have a different solution based on its own unique situation. Every school in America needs to immediately identify, dedicate and deploy the resources necessary to put these security forces in place, though, right now.

And the National Rifle Association, as America’s preeminent trainer of law enforcement and security personnel for the past 50 years -- we have 11,000 police training instructors in the NRA -- is ready, willing and uniquely qualified to help.

Our training programs are the most advanced in the world. That expertise must be brought to bear to protect our schools and our children now.

We did it through (ph) our nation’s defense industries and military installations during World War II. We did it for very young kids with our Eddie Eagle child safety program that is throughout the country in schools right now, and we’ll do it again today.

LAPIERRE: The NRA is gonna bring all its knowledge, all its dedication and all its resources to develop a model national schools shield emergency response program for every single school in America that wants it. From armed security to building design and access control, to information technology, to student and teacher training, this multifaceted program will be developed by the very best experts in the field. Former Congressman Asa Hutchinson will lead the effort as national director of the National Model School Shield Program, with a budget provided by the NRA of whatever scope the task requires. His experience as United States attorney, director of the Drug Enforcement Agency, and undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security will give him the knowledge and expertise to hire the most knowledgeable and credentialed experts that are available in the United States of America to get this program up and running from the first day forward.

If we truly cherish our kids, more than our money, more than our celebrities, more than our sports stadiums, we must give them the greatest level of protection possible. And that security is only available with properly trained, armed good guys. Under Asa’s leadership, our team of security experts will make this program available to the world for protecting our children in school. And we’ll make the program available to every single school in America, free of charge. That’s a plan of action that can, and will make a real positive, indisputable difference in the safety of our children, and it will start right now.

LAPIERRE: There’s going to be a lot of time for talk, and debate later. This is a time this is a day for decisive action. We can’t wait for the next unspeakable crime to happen before we act. We can’t lose precious time debating legislation that won’t work. We mustn’t allow politics or personal prejudice to divide us. We must act now for the sake of every child in America.

I call on every parent. I call on every teacher. I call on every school administrator, every law enforcement officer in this country, to join with us and help create a national schools shield safety program to protect our children with the only positive line of defense that’s tested and proven to work.

And now, to tell you more about the program, I’d like to introduce the head of the effort, former U.S. congressman, former U.S. attorney for the western district of Arkansas, and former administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the Honorable Congressman Asa Hutchinson.

Asa?

FORMER REP. ASA HUTCHINSON, R-ARK.: Thank you, Wayne.

One of the first responsibilities I learned at Homeland Security was the importance of protecting our nation’s critical infrastructure. And there’s nothing more critical to our nation’s well being than our children’s safety. They are this country’s future and our most precious resource.

HUTCHINSON: We all understand that our children should be safe in school. But it is also essential that the parents understand and have confidence in that safety. As a result of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, that confidence across this nation has been shattered. Assurance of school safety must be restored with a sense of urgency.

That is why I’m grateful that the National Rifle Association has asked me to lead a team of security experts to assist our schools, parents, and our communities.

I took this assignment on one condition, that my team of experts will be independent and will be guided solely by what are the best security solutions for the safety of our children while at school. Even though we are just starting this process, I envision this initiative will have two key elements.

First of all, it would be based on a model security plan, a comprehensive strategy for school security based upon the latest, most up-to-date technical information from the foremost experts in their fields. This model security plan will serve as a template, a set of best practices, principles, and guidelines that every school in America can tweak as needed and tailor to their own set of circumstances.

Every school and community is different, but this model security plan will allow every school to choose among its various components to develop a school safety strategy that fits their own unique circumstance, whether its a large urban school or a small rural school such as we have in Arkansas or anything in between.

Armed, trained, qualified school security personnel will be one element of that plan, but by no means, the only element. If a school decides, for whatever reason, that it doesn’t want or need armed security personnel, that, of course, is a decision to be made by the parents and the local school board at the local level.

HUTCHINSON: The second point I want to make is that this will be a program that does not depend on massive funding from local authorities or the federal government. Instead, it will make use of local volunteers serving in their own communities.

In my home state of Arkansas, my son was a volunteer with a local group called Watchdog Dads (ph) who volunteer their time at schools, who patrol playgrounds and provide a measure of added security. President Clinton initiated a program called Cops In School, but the federal response is not sufficient for today’s task.

Whether they’re retired police, retired military, or rescue personnel, I think there are people in every community in this country who would be happy to serve if only someone asked them and gave them the training and certifications to do so.

The National Rifle Association is the natural obvious choice to sponsor this program. Their gun safety, marksmanship, and hunter education programs have set the standard for well over a century. Over the past 25 years, their Eddy Eagle (ph) gun safe program has taught over 26 million kids that real guns aren’t toys, and today child gun accidents are at the lowest levels ever recorded.

School safety is a complex issue with no simple, single, solution, but I believe trained, qualified, armed security is one key component among many that can provide the first line of difference as well as the last line of defense.

Again, I welcome the opportunity to serve this vital, potentially life-saving effort.

HUTCHINSON: Thank you, very much.

LAPIERRE: (inaudible) thank you.

QUESTION: Do either of you feel like any talks with...

KEENE: As I indicated...

QUESTION: ... will stop gun...

KEENE: As I indicated at the outset, this is the beginning of a serious conversation. We won’t be taking questions today, but Andrew Arulanandam, our public affairs officer, is here.

(CROSSTALK)

KEENE: We will be willing to talk to anybody beginning on Monday. A text of the speech by Wayne and Asa Hutchinson’s remarks are available at nra.org.

I want to thank all of you for being with us. And I look forward to talking to you and answering any of your questions next week.

Thank you very much.

QUESTION: One question. One question, Mr. Keene?

(CROSSTALK)

QUESTION: (inaudible) White House for any discussions (ph)? Mr. Keene, is the door completely closed (inaudible) White House for any discussion, sir?