Franklin, Andrews, Kramer & Edelstein

[scion]

NRA's Wayne LaPierre delivers remarks at CPAC - live stream

February 22, 2018, 10:01 AM Last Updated Feb 22, 2018 10:17 AM EST
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nra-wayne-lapierre-delivers-remarks-at-cpac-live-stream/

National Rifle Association Executive Director and CEO Wayne LaPierre is opening a busy schedule at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday. His remarks come just one week after a deadly school shooting that has since sparked renewed calls for more stringent gun laws across the country.

In the wake of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting, LaPierre criticized the failure of the FBI to follow up on a tip about the suspect, and NRA critics who think gun control is the answer.

"They don't care if their laws work or not," LaPierre said of critics. "They just want to get more laws to get more control over people. But the NRA, the NRA does care," LaPierre said on stage.

LaPierre, calling schools "gun-free zones" that are easy targets for shooters, echoed what President Trump suggested the day before — that schools be better armed and protected.

"Evil walks among us and God help us if we don't harden our schools and protect our kids," LaPierre said.

But LaPierre did not only stick to gun rights issues, launching into a tirade against the "rogue leadership" in the FBI, echoing frustrating with the FBI Mr. Trump and others have consistently criticized. LaPierre said someone in the agency should have stood up and called "B.S." on its leadership's failures.

But LaPierre's comments weren't necessarily the most fiery from the NRA at CPAC Thursday. Before LaPierre took the stage, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch said some in the media "love mass shootings."

"Many in legacy media love mass shootings," Loesch said on stage "Now I'm not saying that you love the tragedy. But I am saying that you love the ratings. Crying white mothers are ratings gold..."

Loesch also said Democratic lawmakers are taking advantage of the shooting.

"They're exploiting a tragedy for an agenda. Shame on you. We call BS," she said.

As students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland demand action from lawmakers, the White House has signaled its openness to addressing fixes to current gun legislation like a ban on so called "bump stock" devices that make semi-automatic weapons operate similar to automatic ones and raising the legal minimum age to purchase a gun. President Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of increasing the minimum age for buying guns, which the NRA promptly shot down.

Shortly before LaPierre was slated to speak at CPAC, Mr. Trump tweeted his support for LaPierre and the NRA generally.

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
What many people don’t understand, or don’t want to understand, is that Wayne, Chris and the folks who work so hard at the @NRA are Great People and Great American Patriots. They love our Country and will do the right thing. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

2:31 PM - Feb 22, 2018

In the wake of the mass shooting in Las Vegas last year, LaPierre faulted the Obama-era ATF for failing to "do their job" while speaking to CBS' "Face the Nation."

"On bump stocks, let me say this, the fact is that the Obama administration a couple years ago legalized a device, their ATF, that fuzzed the line between semi-automatics and fully automatics. And if we're able to fuzz that line, all semi-automatics are at risk," said LaPierre.

He added, "If you fuzz the line, they're all at risk. And we're not going to let that happen."

While the White House continues to host listening sessions with communities affected by shootings, the NRA says it stands by its opposition to a ban of semi-automatic firearms and accessories and has since announced its opposition to the White House's age-limit proposal, saying in either case, the measures do not "prevent criminal activity and simply punishes the law-abiding for the criminal acts of others."

"The NRA supports efforts to prevent those who are in danger to themselves or others from getting access to firearms. At the same time, we will continue to oppose gun control measures that only serve to punish law-abiding citizens, these are not mutually exclusive or unachievable goals," the organization said in a statement on Wednesday.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nra-wayne-lapierre-delivers-remarks-at-cpac-live-stream/