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A lone gunman killed 19 students and two adults at Robbs Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday. The National Rifle Association is set to host its annual convention in Houston, Texas on Friday, just a few hundred miles away. Former President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak at the event.
It's a moment that's eerily similar to one that occurred more than two decades ago, when the NRA's annual event was set to begin in Denver just days after two gunmen killed 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. A day after that horrific school shooting in 1999, leaders of the NRA gathered to craft their response. Tim Mak of NPR's Investigations team obtained secret recordings of how they debated how to respond and whether to hold their annual meeting. What the NRA decided then would become a standard response the organization would use for decades of school shootings to come.
The only answer to school shootings is more security protect the kids from the crazies.
There isn't any one solution. Better security is a good idea. Better mental health care. Red flag laws. Most importantly we need to get military type weapons out of the general public hands.
I have owned guns my whole life, hunting and target shooting. I am a veteran of the military, where I was a small arms and range instructor. There is absolutely no logical reason for civilians to own military type weapons or large capacity magazines!
@marksam8484 You should know that an AR15 is not a military type weapon but rather a semiautomatic version of the army M16. There are already millions of AR15 rifles owned by civilians. Are you purposing those guns should be seized?
@Trajan61 Please, that's a ridiculous argument Of course it's a military type weapon. Obviously you don't know much about weapons! I'm not gonna pretend for one minute like I have all the answers. But there are options for getting them off the streets like buy backs or perhaps a special permit for people who own those type weapons who have to pass an extensive background check.. The point being every kid on the street can't have easy access to that type of a weapon.
At what point are we going to admit that we have a problem that no other Country has. It's about g** d*** time that we come up with some kind of solution and quit making excuses
@marksam8484 With a radical tyrant like Biden in control I sure as hell will never give up or register any of my guns!
@Trajan61 Why didn't you just say you were a Trump Nutjob? Then I would've known better than to try an have a intelligent conversation ?
Donald Trump made it easier for mentally ill people to buy guns. I thought you were a big supporter.
How about we keep the crazies from being able to get guns in the first place.
@marksam8484 And you appear to be a hopelessly indoctrinated democrap nut job!
@marksam8484, @snytiger6 He did no such thing.
@Trajan61 Try doing a web search. Trump eliminated an Obama rule, making it easier for the mentally ill to get guns. [nbcnews.com]
@Trajan61 Yes, I do suffer from PTSD from combat. While serving my country with distinction. How about you?
If it weren’t for the NRA we would have already been stripped of our rights pertaining to gun ownership. I’m a life member of the NRA and so is my son and grandsons.
Paranoia will destroy you.
The NRA used to be about gun safety and responsible gun ownership. Now, it is ONLY about making money and being sure gun manufacturers are able to sell as many guns as possible no matter how many die.
When my dad died, we had at least half a dozen guns we didn't want and we knew if one of my brothers got hold of them, there would be at least a 50/50 chance someone would get shot, because he is a far right wing nut, and the black sheep of the family. In the end, my other brother took them. The problem with all the guns is that a lot of people who end up with them, don't want them, and there are so few responsible ways to get rid of them.