The Issue: NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre’s suggestion that armed officers could curb gun violence in schools.
***
The National Rifle Association really shot itself in the foot (“NRA Goes Off Half-Cocked,” Dec. 22).
CEO Wayne LaPierre’s proposal to turn our schools into free-fire zones qualifies him as certifiably insane.
If he wants a national database for the mentally ill, his name should be the first one on it.
The NRA stands for “Not Really Awake” or “Not Reality-Anchored.”
Richard Reif
Flushing
The NRA didn’t rant like Mayor Bloomberg did the very day of the awful Newtown tragedy.
The politicians who took advantage of the tragedy could be considered loons or anti-gun nuts.
They offer no sensible ways to end our culture of death. If anyone actually listens to what LaPierre said, it becomes clear that he has some solutions worth considering.
More laws that criminals and mentally ill people will not follow are not the answer.
Taking guns away from law-abiding citizens is not the answer.
James Lyons
Salt Point
I think LaPierre’s desire to put armed guards in every school in America is a good idea, as long as the NRA is willing to pay for them.Calvin Hill
Cambria Heights
LaPierre’s comments were not the statements of a gun loon, but a reasonable alternative.
We have seen how outright bans do not work.
Banning alcohol resulted in huge profits for organized crime and had to be repealed. Illegal drugs and the associated violence are not well-controlled. Banning all guns or even specific types of guns will not stop a psychopath or a criminal from getting them and causing mayhem. Armed police, security or citizens will.
Michael Luna
North Babylon
I own a weapon to protect myself and my family, but I am not a member of the NRA.
LaPierre is right — the type of cowards who execute these mass killings might not do so if they knew people with guns were there to shoot back.
We have thousands of gun laws on the books in this country, but we let the mentally ill walk the streets unevaluated and untreated.
They unleash their murderous rage in venues where they know guns are banned, hence, the tragedies.Bob Wirt
Sun City Center, Fla.
LaPierre’s was the most honest approach I’ve heard yet: We should put a cop in every school, just as they put a marshal on airline flights — simple and obvious.
Yes, we must outlaw assault rifles, but we should also protect the defenseless. Greg Rand
White Plains
It is not impossible to enforce gun laws; it is just difficult.
Our mayor has assigned the entire NRA a certain degree of blame for the massacre.
I can understand pointing to the pro-gun lobby in an effort to explain how this could happen, but to take even a portion of blame away from the perpetrator of the crime is unjust.
If a member of society isn’t held personally accountable for his actions, it follows that any punishment is unwarranted.
It certainly isn’t LaPierre’s job to come up with gun laws.
Daniel Maher
Woodside
LaPierre’s speech was an eloquent analysis of the effects of Hollywood’s exploitation of violence and the American Civil Liberties Union’s protecting monsters.
Virtually every public building in America has a security desk in the lobby. Why not schools?
The left is exploiting Newtown to demonize the NRA and make its political support toxic.
Paul Izzo
Milford
The Post’s headline “Gun Nut!” (Dec. 12), could have come from The New York Times.
I watched every bit of LaPierre’s speech and nothing was “nuts” about it.
He offered the most sensible solution of putting armed security guards in schools.
Removing firearms will not stop mentally ill killers from killing.
Gabe Garcia
Staten Island