Mayor Rahm Emanuel talks about teacher contract negotiations in a one-on-one interview with CBS 2′s Dana Kozlov at his 5th floor office at City Hall. (Credit: CBS)
CHICAGO (CBS) – Mayor Rahm Emanuel blasted the NRA’s suggestion that school shootings can be prevented by placing an armed security officer at every school building across the United States.
The nation’s most powerful gun-rights lobbying organization, which was silent for days following the Newtown, Conn. school shooting that left 20 children and six adults dead, outlined the policy at a Friday news conference. It did not include any curbs on gun ownership.
“The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre said.
Gun-control advocates like Emanuel criticized the proposal as out of touch with most of America.
“It’s outrageous and unsettling that the NRA would choose to address gun violence not by taking assault weapons off our streets, but by adding more guns to our schools,” Emanuel said in a written statement. “That is not the right answer for our society, our schools and most importantly our children. The answer is in education, in scholarships for today’s struggling youth and scholarships for single mothers that will allow them to take their lives into their own hands, filling the gaping hole in societal hierarchy.”
The mayor added: “People across this country, from small towns to big cities, are united and ready to pass common-sense gun control legislation. The time has come for the NRA to get on board or get out of the way.”
The Connecticut massacre has prompted calls for a renewal of the assault-weapons ban that expired nearly a decade ago.
Other gun-control advocates condemned the NRA plan Friday.
“We must protect our children and communities in a way that works, that is to remove the easy access to assault weapons,” the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. and Rainbow PUSH Coalition said in a written statement.
Under the NRA proposal, governments would pay for the armed officers at schools.
