NRA At CPAC: Media Turned Jared Loughner Into A Celebrity

[spanone]

utter horseshit....the media made him a celebrity? made him a hero?




WASHINGTON -- National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre on Thursday sharply condemned both the media and lawmakers for their response to the Tucson shootings, accusing them of glorifying the shooter and legislative overreach, respectively.

The longtime NRA header, who helps command a four million member organization, said that the press made a "celebrity" out of Jared Loughner the accused shooter of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) and 19 others.

"We continue to pray for and wish them well. But the national media wasted no time in making a celebrity out of the deranged killer. His photo was all over the place, that monster," he said. "It turns a bad man into a hero for every potential deranged copy cat out there. It is sick, it is wrong and the media ought to be ashamed of themselves."

LaPierre had been relatively quiet as the political world renewed the debate over the boundaries of gun-rights following the Tucson shoots. But his annual address to the Conservative Political Action Conference forum provided him with both a widely watched stage and a sympathetic audience. His speech, filled with cutting critiques about political elites, the press, and illegal immigrants, was filled with harrowing anecdotes, 9-1-1 audio and video footage (even from Egypt).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/10/nra-cpac-loughner_n_821542.html

[marmar]

1. He's just pissed that the whole incident cast guns and the NRA in a negative light.....

More faux outrage from the NRA, ala Columbine.

[spanone]

2. blame the media.....cheap shot. hey wayne, they tackled him RELOADING.

[GKirk]

3. I tend to agree

somewhat. Time Magazine had Loughner on the cover. I would have preferred the victims instead.

[Rex]

4. Fuck him, I hope he trips over a loaded gun one day and blows his balls off.

I bet he would HATE guns from that day on and advocate strongly against them. People like Wayne have no real convictions, just a convenient belief system that involves them...that is it, just them.

[TheCowsCameHome]

5. Who is that fellow in the picture - Jimmy Swaggart...

...preaching to his flock?

[KharmaTrain]

6. Ya Think The Shitstain Would Say The Same Thing...

...had the shooter been an "illegal alien" using a gun bought at a gun show?

The gun nuts and wingnuts continue to try to spin this away from their lock-step support of the legislation that led to this assasination and slaughter.

So what are we supposed to do, Wayne? Ignore the shooters and the cause? Methinks you'd be saying a lot different if you could find a way to spin it into fear...

[Maine_Nurse]

7. Legislation that led to this??? Nice spin.

It was a mentally deranged individual. If he had driven a nice Chevy Suburban into the crowd, killing 20 and injuring 40, would you be willing to surrender your car?

[KharmaTrain]

10. Nice Double Spin...

My point is about how LaPierre is trying to use the media to distract attention from the fact that the killer was able to walk up and get a 30-round clip that had previously been banned. Had that legislation still been in effect some of those killed may still be alive.

He says we should ignore the shooter...not try to learn what led him to snap. Sure he was deranged and gun, car, rubber duck, it does matter that we find out where the breakdowns were...in preventing someone that ill from getting his/her hands on such firepower and prevent this kind of tragedy in the future.

This isn't about banning guns...that's totally unrealistic. If we're going to be a civilized and "law abiding" society that has to coexist with guns then we should find ways to find a reasonable balance between one's need to "defend themselves" and those who use weapons to terrorize. Allowing anyone to walk off the streets and buy 30-round clips in the wrong hands is the issue here. We either have to find a better system to detect those who want to use weapons in an offensive manner or prevent making such devestating ammo so easily available.

Cheers...

[Rex]

11. Cars are made for transporting people, guns are made for killing people.

Nice try. :eyes:

[MilesColtrane]

8. Wayne LaPierre has skull face.

Looks like he could be Rumsfeld's long lost brother.

[Arkana]

9. Just another ARGH THE MEDIA rant

from a gun nut.