NRA press conference LIVE 9:45AM CST

[TexasGal]

I did not find the conference televised live on my local stations. All I saw was the soundbite of good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns along with media opinions of that. So when the NRA sent a link to the entire conference to my email, I watched it. The media is scanned by the camera and many are ignoring him. Some even openly roll their eyes. The ideas put forth are sound and I agree with him that the unbridled violence of video games is part of the problem.

I consulted with child psychologists and psychiatrists when my son was growing up because he has intermittent explosive disorder and attachment problems. No, I did not teach him to shoot nor were guns part of his environment, but I was strongly advised to remove all video games that promoted direct violence against humans from the gamer's point of view whether it was guns, fists, or any other form of weapon. These doctors knew first hand that such games encourage children with problems to think of the experience given in the game being transferred to real life. I was frustrated to learn when he went to his friends homes he still had access to the worst possible games because of this denial that these games are a bad idea. My son is 26 now. He is married, but still under the care of a psychiatrist whom he has nothing but contempt for. His apartment has holes in every wall and door from his chosen method of expressing his anger--punching them with his fists during his episodes of fury. So far, he has not harmed anyone, but he has profound grudges against his father and I for things that are not realistic in the least. With a health science degree, I know the brain is a dangerous place to experiment with drugs. He has done that with illegal drugs and now his psychiatrist has him on a slew of legal ones she changes regularly. I live at that place where fear and love meet.

We may not all agree all the time with the choices of the NRA, but please please support them. If we do not all pull together, we will all lose. Thank you, Charles, for your tireless efforts to help gun owners and your tolerance.

[Oldgringo]

I did not find the conference televised live on my local stations. All I saw was the soundbite of good guys with guns stop bad guys with guns along with media opinions of that. So when the NRA sent a link to the entire conference to my email, I watched it. The media is scanned by the camera and many are ignoring him. Some even openly roll their eyes. The ideas put forth are sound and I agree with him that the unbridled violence of video games is part of the problem.

I consulted with child psychologists and psychiatrists when my son was growing up because he has intermittent explosive disorder and attachment problems. No, I did not teach him to shoot nor were guns part of his environment, but I was strongly advised to remove all video games that promoted direct violence against humans from the gamer's point of view whether it was guns, fists, or any other form of weapon. These doctors knew first hand that such games encourage children with problems to think of the experience given in the game being transferred to real life. I was frustrated to learn when he went to his friends homes he still had access to the worst possible games because of this denial that these games are a bad idea. My son is 26 now. He is married, but still under the care of a psychiatrist whom he has nothing but contempt for. His apartment has holes in every wall and door from his chosen method of expressing his anger--punching them with his fists during his episodes of fury. So far, he has not harmed anyone, but he has profound grudges against is father and I for things that are not realistic in the least. With a health science degree, I know the brain is a dangerous place to experiment with drugs. He has done that with illegal drugs and now his psychiatrist has him on a slew of legal ones she changes regularly. I live at that place where fear and love meet.

We may not all agree all the time with the choices of the NRA, but please please support them. If we do not all pull together, we will all lose. Thank you, Charles, for your tireless efforts to help gun owners and your tolerance.

Bless your heart and thank you for sharing. Few things are as easy as they might seem.

[koconcept]

I just renewed my membership to the NRA for the lifetime membership. Im paying it out but that the only way i can do it.

[srothstein]

Charles,

I did not get to see the conference, just read the news reports and the reports/transcript of it here. It sounds to me like the only correct answer. I do have some points for everyone here to consider, and I suggest that we see if any Texas legislators will carry a plan like this this session.

First, I love the money quote on stopping the bad guy. I agree with it 100%. A friend of mine from high school is an editor with Hearst Papers and writes the Texas on the Potomac blog. He posted the quote and asked if anyone thought it was true. The comments on it were 2-1 in favor of it when I posted that it had to be true. Statistically, they suicide when the cops come, so it proves the truth. The only answer I have seen against it, in a national column on CNN.com, was that there was an armed guard who engaged the shooters at Columbine and was not able to stop the killing. They then said this proved it would not work. But in their own article they even stipulate that we can never know if this distracted the killers enough for some to get out, lessening the number of deaths, kind of proving the point instead.

Secondly, the Congress can appropriate funds without creating another bureaucracy. They do it already with cities with the Justice grants to help local departments hire more cops. I could see a grant program to the state to train and certify some teachers/parent volunteers. It would not take much in Texas to put armed guards in every school though this type of program.

I suggest that we get a law mandating that each school district and college/university must have a police department with a certified peace officer on each campus or certify teachers and adult parent volunteers to protect each campus. TEA should be the agency running the training and certification (because I see DPS as too big and slow and anti-gun to get this done). Luling, where I live, has a primary school, an elementary school, a middle school, and a high school. It has one officer now assigned to protect all of the schools at once. Adding certification for teachers and adult volunteers would provide enough at no cost toher than the training.

I did see one person who pointed out that Texas allows every school district to have its own police department and we don't have school shootings. I pointed out that Harrald ISD has no record of accidents with the firearms allowed either. I cannot see how this program cannot work.

Finally, if there is anything I can do to help this program Charles, I will be glad to do so. I am willing to testify as a citizen and father, and as an experienced and certified peace officer. I would also be willing to testify as a parent who would volunteer to help the school when I can in this position.

[GrillKing]

The country is going to respond to this massacre either with gun control or something that works. The NRA chose the latter

And there it is, there is your summary. We ALL have to be of one mind on this or we ALL will be on the receiving end of gun control that will not work. Plain and simple.....