It's important to remember that prior to this tragedy, gun control was still a somewhat untouchable subject. Now it's on the table and while we who believe in the 2nd Amendment accuse the gun control advocates of rushing to judgement, it's important to look in the mirror and think maybe this NRA clown is doing exactly that. To me, this guy got up and showed me that the NRA doesn't stand for what I believe in. I'm trying to open my mind to other opinions which is the purpose of this thread, but I feel conflicted because I see the effect of this on people like my own mother, who burst into tears at the thought of losing me and my sister in such a way. What should I do to comfort her? Hand her my Makarov and say "Mom take this, it'll make you feel better"? I think she is representative of more Americans than we realize (fiscally extremely conservative, socially liberal), and I don't think that's the way to talk to her at this point.
What would I have wanted? I would have told him to get up to the mic and say "This is a national tragedy and it would be inappropriate for the NRA to suggest action publicly, but we look forward to working diligently with lawmakers to make schools safer while protecting Americans' 2nd Amendment rights. Thank you and good night." Instead we got some political grandstanding that, in effect, condemned political grandstanding.
I'm a proud gun owner and I do think it is my right to own guns, but I still sit at home and wonder what sacrifice I could make to prevent this from happening in the future. Would it kill me to have mandatory gun safes? Would I suffer undue hardship if I had to pass a more thorough background check? I have yet to know what conclusion I may reach but I think it's still inappropriate to suggest action while victims of this tragedy have yet to be buried.