The Madness Of Wayne LaPierre

When it comes to guns, I sort of view them as a tool, or gadget; however, I don't own one, and there are other things on which I'd rather spend my time and money. Granted, there's a chance that these gadgets can be used to hurt people, but in responsible hands, they should be safe. Because of this, I'm not huge into the whole gun control thing. Just like any other tool, guns should be handled safely and responsibly.

Unfortunately, as seen last Friday, and so many other times before, that's not always the case.

This morning, Wayne LaPierre, the Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, released a statement basically blaming everyone and everything else for the shooting, except for the shooter and the power and availability of the weapons he used. While his statements were controversial, the part that incensed me was blaming the school and "gun-free" zones for being attractive targets for gunmen.

"Politicians pass laws for Gun-Free School Zones. They issue press releases bragging about them. They post signs advertising them.

And in so doing, they tell every insane killer in America that schools are their safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk."

What the Hell? So it's the school's fault for being such a safe place? Isn't that what school is supposed to be? By his logic, every unarmed jogger is inviting a mugging; every grocery store inviting robbery. What kind of world is he living in? Apparently it's a world where victims are at fault. And his solution to school shootings? Place an armed law enforcement officer in every school. Because that's realistic, and especially with government budgets these days, completely affordable.

It just makes my head spin to think there are people that exist like this in our country, in our world, with influence over so many others. I have no problem with people, responsible people, owning guns. But I do have a problem with Mr. LaPierre irresponsibly shooting his mouth off...