After days of silence, the National Rifle Association has released a statement on the tragic shooting in Newtown, CT, saying it will make "meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again" and pledged to make an announcement on Friday.
In the release, the organization begins to explain its silence, saying: "Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting."The organization announced it will hold a press conference Friday in Washington, D.C.
More details on Friday's press conference will be released when timing is deemed "appropriate," according to the statement.
In the interim, we want to know, what do you hope the NRA does in response to the Newtown tragedy?
The NRA, the firearms manufacturers the ammo manufacturers, the gun owners, the polticians, th the lobbyists, the general population. I dare say there are more who DONT own guns than those that do. Perhaps a general population VOTE where the majority of citizens decided if the Second amendment should be revised or even abolished is a way to go if it is even legaly feasible to do so.This takes it out of washingtons hands and lays it at the feet of the general public to decide. in light of the recent Tragedies it would be intersting to see what the outcome would be if the american people had the right to decide. Neither the NRA nor manufacturers should have a voice in US Policy and law. either directly or behind closed doors . While we elect people to represent us I am sure some are slightly prone to viewpoints that are financial and campaign driven. The deeper the pockets of lobbies the more politicians are apt to side with them. Bring it to a vote of the american people. Let the VOTERS decide directly.
An assault rifle is a select-fire (either fully automatic or burst capable) rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge and a detachable magazine. It is not to be confused with assault weapons.[1] Assault rifles are the standard service rifles in most modern armies. Assault rifles are categorized in between light machine guns, which are intended more for sustained automatic fire in a light support role, and submachine guns, which fire a pistol cartridge rather than a rifle cartridge. • It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock); • It must be capable of selective fire; • It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle; • Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine rather than a feed-belt. • And it should at least have a firing range of 300 meters (1000 feet)
Civilian ownership of assault rifles or any other full-automatic firearm is tightly regulated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives under the National Firearms Act of 1934 as amended by Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968. In addition, the Firearms Owners' Protection Act of 1986 halted the manufacture of assault rifles for the civilian market and currently limits legal civilian ownership to units produced and properly registered with the BATFE before May 1986. Some states have enacted laws against civilian possession of automatic weapons that override NFA clearance; Kansas, on the other hand, repealed its own state law against civilian ownership of assault rifles in July 2008.[24] Civilians may purchase semi-automatic versions of such firearms without requiring NFA clearance, although some states (including California and New Jersey) enforce their own restrictions and/or prohibitions on such weapons.
In the middle of the night, if someone happens to break into y our home, what line of defense do you have? The first thing your going to do is call for a person with a gun, but you never know how long it is going to take for that person (the police) to get to you? a few minutes? It only takes seconds for a home invader to get to you. Im not encouraging anyone to have a shoot out like its the wild west, but to sit vigil and prepare yourself if they try to get to you.
Its unfortunate that guns do fine their way into the hands of people that are intent on hurting others, but how is that any different than a drunk person getting behind a wheel of a car and killing people? Do we ban alcohol? Do we ban cars? We have super muscle cars with hundreds of horse power and exceed speeds way over 100 mph, yet our speed limits are only 55 (on average) for highways. Do we ban cars that go that fast? After all "speed kills"? As a society, where do we draw the line?