NRA hiding behind a conservative smokescreen

NRA-ILA :: In The News

I've been keeping an eye on the National Rifle Association's website in an attempt to find some argument from them in the wake of the Virginia Tech killings a week ago. So far nothing. I've mentioned this before and you can trackback to see the history of this post.
This evening I found this (link above) and a couple of others like it on the NRA "news" website. Basically an aggregation of the pro-gun defences and a series of attacks on everyone except the gun-owners.

It doesn't cut it. The NRA has not itself put out any kind of meaningful statement. And the one they did post, essentially saying "no comment" until all the "facts" are known about VT has been taken down.

Instead they're letting the right-wing columnists and bloggers do their dirty work. If I had a gun, I'd...
Well, in the words of the Barenaked Ladies, "there'd be no tomorrow".

I wonder if those bright sparks over at "shoot-em up central" have any idea how ironic and stupid this kind of promotion actually looks now.

Here's one of the NRA's "happy snap" images of what a well-armed college kid might want to carry to their next biology class.

NRA lost voice?

NRA news website
The National Rifle Association has still not broken its silence on the Blacksburg killings. But perhaps we can distill something about what it might be saying from these media releases and commentary from "gun-owners"
Here's the Gun-Owners of America Executive Director, the well-monikered Larry Pratt:

"The latest school shooting demands an immediate end to the gun-free zone law which leaves the nation's schools at the mercy of madmen. It is irresponsibly dangerous to tell citizens that they may not have guns at schools. The Virginia Tech shooting shows that killers have no concern about a gun ban when murder is in their hearts."

Pratt's comments were picked up by Ed Isler who blogs at The Conservative Voice.
I can only assume that the NRA is happy to let these politically aligned individuals speak on their behalf.

Let's explore this "guns at school" argument. Pratt cites and Isler repeats a story about either the Application School of Law (Pratt) or the Appalachian School of Law (Isler) where a "madman" was stopped by students who fetched their own guns from cars and subdued the suspect.
We can put this scenario to the test and we end up with...32 dead.
Person A goes into a dorm and shoots two people. Person B, hearing the gunshots, pulls out their concealed weapon and runs in the direction of the gunfire. B sees A running down the stairs and cracks off a couple of shots, but misses. Persons C & D, hearing these retorts, grab their own pistols and run in search of the action.
A runs outside, pursued by B. They crouch in defensive positions and open fire on each other. C comes around the corner and can see B firing at A. C opens up at B, thinking that B is the shooter. D comes round the other side and can see A firing at B. D opens up at A. We now have four guns in operation with confusing cross-fire.
E, F, G (you can add as many more as you like because in this upside down world if you don't carry a gun you're in real danger from those who do). Pretty soon you've got a wild west "OK corral" type situation going on. A friend of mine likened it to a bar brawl where, once the first punch is thrown everyone kicks in and no one can figure out who started it or where "fault" might lie.
In the emotional and adrenalin fueled atmosphere of a campus gun battle who knows where it might end. No one apart from A and B know what went down in the first instance and they're too busy firing back (or more likely already dead). Any newcomers into the scene are likely to shoot first and ask questions later, if they survive.
This way real madness lies, but not according to the distorted logic of the gun lobby. These are the last people in the world who should be allowed to have guns.

NRA silence still deafening

I have been keeping an eye on the National Rifle Association's reaction to the Blacksburg shootings. Over the past few days I've been regularly visiting the NRA website expecting that the organisation that claims to speak for America's gun-owners would have some measured response to the murder of 32 people by a deranged shooter with several powerful handguns and a sh!tload of ammo.
Here's the statement that they first posted four days ago.

The National Rifle Association joins the entire country in expressing our deepest condolences to the families of Virginia Tech and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the families.

We will not have further comment until all the facts are known.

Excuse me, but we know the facts. A mentally-ill young man armed with legally purchased weapons killed 32 people and then shot himself. What have the powerful representative's of America's gun-owning public got to say about this. It seems, to use an Antipodean colloquialism "Bugger All!"
Hiding behind "until all the facts are known" is cowardice in the extreme. As of today the NRA's ridiculous non-statement has not been updated in any way.
These bloodthirsty nutters should shut themselves down and apologise to the world for their despicable silence.

Guns don't kill people, gun-owners do!

My challenge to NRA President Sandra S. Froman is for her to use her President's Column to respond to this incident in the measured tones she's so apparently fond of. This is a small grab from what's live on Froman's column at the NRA site as of today (Saturday 21 April 2007):

The challenge is getting the message out. The mainstream media doesn’t give us a fair shake, and it costs a great deal of money to go on television or radio. Every dollar we spend on those media outlets is one less dollar available for our members’ shooting, hunting and gun safety programs. NRA has always been able to do a lot with a little and wise use of our resources is always part of the equation.

How can she say that the mainstream media isn't interested in the NRA's views, what crap. The whole world wants to know what you think about this Sandra. Hell, you can come here and have a whole page to yourself, uncensored. For the sake of the victims, say something.
And I really like the priorities expressed here:
shooting, hunting and gun safety
Nice one Prez! Not!!