Wayne LaPierre's statement – twice interrupted by protesters – dashes hopes of gun control advocates looking for debate
The National Rifle Association, one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the US, has called for armed security guards to be posted in every school in the country and insisted that the only solution to gun violence in the wake of the Newtown massacre was more guns.
A week almost to the hour after a gunman blasted his way into Sandy Hook elementary school in Connecticut, killing 20 first-grade children as well as six staff members, the NRA's executive vice-president Wayne LaPierre finally broke his silence and delivered a defiant message to the nation.
Throwing down the gauntlet to Barack Obama, he declared: "The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." That is a mantra that he has used after several previous mass shootings.
His statement dashed hopes of gun control advocates that the NRA would be willing to engage in debate about tighter restrictions on gun ownership, such as a ban on assault weapons and large capacity magazines of the type used by Adam Lanza in Newtown. On Tuesday, an NRA statement promised the organisation would make a "meaningful contribution" to prevent mass shootings.
Tom Mauser, who lost his son Daniel in the Columbine massacre, said that he was disappointed but not surprised by LaPierre's comments. "He conceded nothing and completely ignored the desire of a lot of Americans for change – for the NRA change means just more guns."
LaPierre's comments set the scene for what could become a defining battle of Obama's second term in office. The president has already indicated that he means to use all powers at his disposal to effect meaningful change in America's relationship with guns, and has appointed his vice president Joe Biden to lead a national taskforce on the issue.
Over the past 20 years the NRA has proven to be a formidable foe of advocates of greater gun controls. By mobilising its army of three to four million members, backed up by a fearsome lobbying operation on Capitol Hill, the organisation has succeeded in blocking or watering down most previous attempts at tightening the country's uniquely lapse gun laws.
The NRA chief's unbending response to Newtown was delivered at a packed press conference in Washington that was disrupted twice by hecklers carrying banners that said "NRA: Killing Our Kids" and "NRA: Blood On Its Hands". In the course of about half an hour, LaPierre laid blame for the Sandy Hook massacre on several other parties including the media, politicians in favour of gun-free zones, the country's mental health services, gamers and the film studios that make violent movies – but brooked no criticism of the NRA itself.
He warned that there were "dozens, maybe more than 100 … monsters" out there already planning the next attack on an unprotected school. The only way to stop another gun rampage was to put guns in schools.
He said: "If we truly cherish our kids, more than money, more than our celebrities, we must must give them the greatest level of protection possible and the security that is only available with a properly trained – armed – good guy."
If Lanza – who also killed his mother last Friday before the attack on the school – had been confronted by a qualified armed security guard as he began his shooting spree, LaPierre ponderedI "isn't it at least possible that 26 little kids might have been spared that day?"
While other elements of the conservative movement in America have waxed and waned over the past two decades – with both the evangelical right and the Tea party suffering setbacks in recent times – the NRA has managed to sustain its impact on the national debate despite the on-going carnage of gun violence that claims about 12,000 lives every year.