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NEWTOWN, Conn. — The CEO whose company manufactured the deadly AR-15 assault rifle Adam Lanza used to gun down 20 children and six educators in Newtown has spoken publicly about the murder spree for the first time, and said the madman, and not the weapon, were to blame for the tragedy.
Freedom Group exec George Kollitides, whose company owns gun manufacturer Bushmaster, spoke to the Washington Times in an exclusive interview that was published today — on the six month anniversary of the massacre in Connecticut.
“It’s very easy to blame an inanimate object. Any kind of instrument in the wrong hands can be put to evil use. This comes down to intent — criminal behavior, accountability and responsibility,” Kollitides told the paper.
Kollitides noted that Lanza illegally obtained the guns used in the Dec. 14 killing spree from his mother, who he also murdered, and said the expanded background checks some legislators have called in the wake of the slayings would not have prevented the tragedy,
Kollitides said he is not against background checks but criticized failed legislation that would have expanded them to private sales, according to the Times. He also called for armed guards in schools.
Outrage in the aftermath of the killings was so great that Kollitides hired full-time security to guard his home, which is also in Connecticut.
The interview, which took place last week, was published Friday, on the same day that the shattered Connecticut town held a ceremony to honor the victims of the massacre, in an remembrance that doubled as a call for action on gun reform.
The mood of the six-month marker was decidedly more political than private, with a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns holding events in 10 states calling for lawmakers to expand background checks and urging senators who opposed the bill to reconsider.
Two sisters of slain teacher Victoria Soto addressed a crowd gathered at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown for a 26-second moment of silence, honoring the 20 children and six adults gunned down at the school on Dec. 14.
“This pain is excruciating and unbearable, but thanks to people like you, that come out and support us, we are able to get through this,” said Carlee Soto, who hugged and held hands with her sister Jillian before taking the stage.
The event then transitioned to the reading of the names of more than 5,000 Americans killed with guns since the tragedy in Newtown. The reading of names was expected to take 12 hours.
Mayors Against Illegal Guns, which organized the event in Newtown, also launched a bus tour that will travel to 25 states over 100 days to build support for legislation to expand background checks for gun buyers. Such legislation failed in the Senate in April, and there are no indications it has gained traction over concerns about protecting gun rights.
The gunman in Newtown killed his mother and the 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School with a semiautomatic rifle, then committed suicide as police arrived. The shooting led some relatives of victims to campaign for tougher gun laws, including some who were in Washington this week lobbying lawmakers for action.
Jillian and Carlee Soto met with President Barack Obama as they campaigned for gun control.
“He just told us to have faith,” said Jillian Soto, 24. “It isn’t something that happens overnight. It’s something that you have to continue to fight for. Within good time we will have this passed and we will have change.”
Carlee Soto, who is 20, said they got back from Washington at 2 a.m. She said that the president and vice president spoke of waging a long battle and that she plans to continue her efforts, as well.
“It’s a very tough battle to fight,” she said. “It’s very frustrating, but knowing I’m doing this for my sister and the other 25 and everyone else that’s been affected by gun violence, it’s worth it.”
Teresa Rousseau, whose daughter Lauren was among the six educators killed at Sandy Hook, also met with the president this week. She said at first she wondered how she would survive, and now she knows she can and feels empowered as she campaigns for tougher gun laws.
“I think it’s time the average American gets a little louder in what he has to say,” Rousseau said.
Laura Miller was among many in the crowd wearing the school’s green and white colors. She said that her son, a kindergartner, was unharmed but that his teacher was shot in the foot.
“I’m here for the people who were less fortunate than me,” she said. “I think they’re the bravest people in the world to be able to come out here and fight for change, and that’s what we need to do. If more people come out, that’s the only way anything is ever going to change.”
The mayors group also held events in 10 states calling for lawmakers to expand background checks and urging senators who opposed the bill to reconsider. Those events, which include gun violence survivors and gun owners, were being in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
Suzanne Conway, 37, was among a handful of people who attended a rally in a Charlotte, N.C., park. The mother of four young children said the shooting compelled her to start a chapter of an anti-gun group, Moms Demand Action.
“Newtown hit me hard. I had to do something about it,” she said. “People are not going to stop fighting. This is a very important issue.”
In Indiana, about two dozen protesters gathered on the Monon Trail in Indianapolis and talked about pressing Indiana’s congressional delegation to support background check legislation. Sen. Joe Donnelly, a Democrat, supports the checks, but Sen. Dan Coats, a Republican, does not.
The protest, held in a liberal swath of Republican Rep. Susan Brooks’ district, should be about laying continued pressure on lawmakers, said Peter Luster, Indiana state director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Lawmakers have daily calls with their staff to check in on what constituents are talking about, and they should hear about background checks constantly, he said.
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who co-founded the mayors group, this week sent a letter asking donors not to support Democratic senators who opposed the bill to expand background checks.
On the other side of the debate, the National Rifle Association is focusing on Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., who co-sponsored the bill to expand background checks, with a TV ad urging viewers to phone Manchin’s office and tell him “to honor his commitment to the 2nd Amendment.” The NRA plans to spend $100,000 airing the ad in West Virginia markets over the next two weeks.