National Rifle Association's Executive Vice President, Wayne LaPierre spoke on behalf of the organization after the Sandy Hook massacre during a press conference advising retired cops and firefighters to stand guard with arms and ammunition at every American school, said a report in Boston Herald.
NRA's proposal to have an armed guard at every school in the country did not please many parents and government officials. Police Commissioner Edward F Davis told the Boston Herald that the NRA's announcement "is not the vision I have for the United States."
"This rhetoric that's being thrown around here, these cute little phrases people keep using, misdirect us from what happened here," Davis told the Herald after a holiday lunch with former Hub cop commissioners Kathleen O'Toole and Bill Bratton. "There were 20 young children murdered with guns. And the problem was guns."
: "When it comes to the most beloved, innocent and vulnerable members of the American family - our children - we as a society leave them utterly defenseless. And the monsters and predators of this world know it and exploit it,"LaPierre said during the press conference. "That must change now."
LaPierre assured he will fight against the easy availability of weaponry to any person in the country. He further blamed violent games and movies having a severe impact on the mental health.
"The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters - people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them. They walk among us every day. And does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn't planning his attack on a school he's already identified at this very moment?" he cautioned in his statement, according to NY Daily report.
"How many more copycats are waiting in the wings for their moment of fame - from a national media machine that rewards them with the wall-to-wall attention and sense of identity that they crave - while provoking others to try to make their mark?"
Bratton did not agree with the NRA's plan and said having retired officers with service weapons will not give any better protection because even sharp shooters and trained cops may miss a shot during a crisis.
"To expect security officers who are armed to be able to do a good job in the event of a significant crisis ... is ludicrous," Bratton said. "He might end up having a heart attack in the middle of the event."
Davis further alerts people about having licensed guns in right hands. He and his team captured 500 illegal guns in 2012.
"Those are the Wild West days that we've moved away from in this country," he said. "No one's trying to stop people who have a legal right to possess firearms. But we need to keep them out of the hands of people who are mentally ill, we need to keep them out of the hands of criminals, and we need better laws to do that."
