The NRA's instantly inflammatory post-Connecticut press event

"The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," claims the NRA's Wayne LaPierre

The NRA's Wayne LaPierre would like a gun in every school.
(Image credit: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

In what was supposed to be a "defining moment" for the organization, the National Rifle Association held a rare press event on Friday afternoon — offering its first public comments since last week's horrifying school shootings in Newtown, Conn., which claimed the lives of 26 victims, including 20 young children. "While some have tried to exploit the tragedy for political gain, we have remained respectfully silent," said NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre. "For all the noise and anger directed at us over the past week, nobody has addressed the most important pressing and immediate question we face. How do we protect our children right now, starting today, in a way we know works?"

The answer, the NRA says, is more guns.

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Chris Gayomali is the science and technology editor for TheWeek.com. Previously, he was a tech reporter at TIME. His work has also appeared in Men's Journal, Esquire, and The Atlantic, among other places. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.