National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre is expected to call for armed guards at the nation’s schools in order to curb gun violence at a Senate hearing on Wednesday.
“It’s time to throw an immediate blanket of security around our children,” LaPierre is expected to tell the Senate Judiciary Committee, according to prepared testimony released by the NRA and published by
The Hill.
LaPierre will be promoting the association’s “School Shield Program,” which seeks to train armed guards as schools, The Hill reports. Former GOP Rep. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas is leading the effort.
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“While we’re ready to participate in a meaningful effort to solve these pressing problems, we must respectfully — but honestly and firmly — disagree with some members of this committee, many in the media, and all of the gun control groups on what will keep our kids and our streets safe,” LaPierre is expected to say in his remarks, according to The Hill.
“Law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals. Nor do we believe the government should dictate what we can lawfully own and use to protect our families.”
LaPierre is expected to tell lawmakers that not lenient gun laws — but poor enforcement of existing laws and loopholes in the nation’s mental-health system — are behind many of the nation’s mass shootings in recent years, The Hill reports.
The committee’s hearing is in response to the Dec. 14 shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20-year-old Adam Lanza gunned down 26 people — including 20 children — with an assault rifle and high-capacity ammunition magazines.
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