NRA Says Blame it on Video Games, Not Guns

The American public has been waiting to hear what the NRA has to say about the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School … one week to be exact, so this morning NRA’s executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre held a news conference and told the media and millions of people watching– that the way to stop gun violence is to “have armed guards at every school in the nation.”

I couldn’t help myself…I started laughing.

I am not the least bit surprised by their answer and you can bet that our politicians…many of them will follow lock step because the NRA gives them millions if not billions of dollars to make sure guns remain accessible to anyone who wants them. LaPierre was asked about tightening laws and closing loopholes that allow the sale of guns at gun shows without any background checks and his response was to leave the room.  LaPierre did find time to attack the media for misrepresenting the facts when it comes to gun violence and that they are part of the corporate businesses that profit from violent video games and films.

LaPierre isn’t the only one who thinks armed guards is the answer to keep our kids safe in schools, but what about malls? Did you know that last Saturday some nutcase decided to shoot  a gun in the parking lot of Fashion Island in Newport Beach? He was apprehended after getting off 50 shots, albeit in the air, but what if he pointed it at people? The point is this guy decided to bring his weapon to public place and start shooting. Is the answer to hire armed guards at all malls?  Do we want to live in a police state?  Because that is really what we are talking about.

I have talked to a lot of different people about this and anyone who knows me — knows I am anti-gun. I never held a gun and will definitely will never own one. At the same time I don’t go around trying to get all guns banned. If someone wants to own guns for whatever reason, I could care less…but owning any weapon that can shoot 30 – 100 rounds before needing to reload is going to far. Some guy told me he needs that fire power to hunt deer…oh really? If he needs to mow down a defenseless animal because he is to stupid to use an ordinary rifle then he needs to get his head examined.  I am willing to bet this guy thinks he is in some Sylvester Stallone movie playing the part of Rambo, and the only way he can act out his fantasy is using  the excuse of “hunting.”  I say if he wants to play soldier he should join the military and shoot at people who shoot back.

Even if we get laws banning assault rifles, gun manufacturers will find ways around it.  Gun laws are like everything else we try to regulate…there are always loopholes or they play word games.  Gun manufacturers will modify assault rifles a bit and then call it something else and since the new weapon isn’t exactly what was banned, the weapon will be back on the market. We can thank Walmart for making the Bushmaster AR-15 assault rifle the most popular rifle on the market.  Walmarts are in every city in America and since they sell weapons and ammo, there is technically a gunstore in every city in America. In 2005, Walmart was busted by Bill Lockyer, then the California attorney general, for thousands of state gun law violations—including selling to people that the AG’s office had notified Walmart were prohibited from owning firearms, and delivering guns to customers before they passed a background check.  Why do all roads seem to lead back to Walmart?

If I wanted to right now, I could go to  GunBroker.com   and bid on a Bushmaster AR 15.  I’m looking at the website right now and I am stunned how many people are bidding  to get the weapon of their choice. This site sells new and used firearms, with prices ranging from $300 to $2500. The popular one right now with 26 bids (the highest one so far being $2250) and only 53 minutes left until closing, is the  Custom tactical Smith & Wesson M&P15 S&W AR 15.  The rules on this site do require all firearms sales to be shipped to a licensed gun dealer so I am assuming they do a background check. If I want to buy 1000 rounds for my PMC 9mm Luger 115 Gr FMJ 9A, I can do that online without any background checks. I can also buy as many boxes of ammunition from as many different sellers as I wish.

Custom Tactical Smith & Wesson M&P15 S&W AR 15

This is the name of the gun store selling the rifle pictured above and  sells similar weapons on GunBroker.com. This is part of their mission statement:

We feel the Zombie Apocalypse is all about how crazy this world is becoming. So we are here to help you find what you need to protect your family and home.

I think the owner is either 1. A marketing genius or 2. A nutcase.  Either way advertisements like this strengthen my belief that assault weapons should not be available for purchase by ordinary citizens. We do not live in a movie set!

 Chris Rock joked about guns in America years ago and said the problem is not guns — its the bullets. I have to agree with that statement even if he only meant is a joke. If bullets cost a ridiculous amount of money then maybe there won’t be as many laying around peoples closets. I say “closets” because I actually met a woman who lives in Laguna Nigel who has a linen closet packed with boxes of ammunition. I was at her house interviewing for a housekeeping job and she showed me around her home.  She didn’t even blink any eye when I asked her if those were real bullets in all those boxes next to the towels. I have no idea how many or where she kept the weapons — I decided to not take that job.

Who knows what will happen over the next couple of months concerning the regulation of assault weapons — in the meantime sales of weapons has gone way up. If you own a gun shop, that’s got to be a good thing.


About Inge

Cancer survivor. Healthy organic food coach. Public speaker. If you have a story you want told, contact me at iscott.orangejuiceblog@gmail.com/