Put armed police in every school, NRA urges

The National Rifle Association on Friday called for armed police officers at every school in the nation, offering a defiant challenge to President Obama’s push for stricter gun control laws and potentially setting up a fierce legislative battle early next year.

In his first extensive public comments since the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre read a lengthy statement that blamed video games, slasher films, the media, inadequate databases on mental illness and lax security for contributing to violence in the culture.

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“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,” LaPierre said.

He scoffed at those who he predicted would criticize his group’s proposal for the nation’s estimated 135,000 public and private schools.

“Your implication will be that guns are evil and have no place in society, much less in our schools. But since when did the word ‘gun’ automatically become a bad word?” LaPierre said at a midday news conference attended by hundreds of reporters.

“The only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and invested in a plan of absolute protection,” said LaPierre, who did not take questions. “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 a minute away?”

The NRA’s statement, coming two days after Obama said he hoped the group would engage in “self-reflection,” helped rekindle a national debate over two starkly different approaches to curbing gun violence.

Obama said this week he supports a ban on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines, along with stricter measures to prevent criminals from obtaining firearms. The president vowed to pursue new policies in January.

NRA officials said they are seeking to shift the national conversation away from gun regulation and the influence of the firearms industry toward a new proposal that it hopes will resonate with families concerned about school safety.

LaPierre’s appearance in a windowless conference room at the Willard Hotel, where security was tight, set off a flurry of reaction after a tense week in which advocates on both sides of the issue waited for the nation’s most influential gun rights group to weigh in.

LaPierre said that Asa Hutchinson, a former Arkansas congressman who served as a homeland security and drug enforcement official in the George W. Bush administration, would lead an NRA-sponsored effort to examine what it would take to place armed security officers in every school under a National School Shield Program.

Grass-roots mobilization has long been the most important source of strength to the NRA, whose executives discussed their approach with national board members following the Newtown shootings. By Friday afternoon, officials were already reporting positive reaction from members.