Global outrage over the Newtown massacre, including at the role played by a gun that no civilian should possess, has forced the National Rifle Association to speak publicly, instead of privately in the halls of Congress.
America’s mighty proponent of deadly weaponry here, there and everywhere, including in bars and kindergartens, announced that on Friday, “The NRA is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again.”
Don’t get your hopes up.
The only “meaningful contributions” the NRA has ever made to public safety have been malignant ones — most notably, the millions of dollars by which the organization buys influence in the House, Senate and state capitals.
In the most recent election cycle, the NRA’s disbursements to candidates totaled more than $18.6 million, and its lobbying expenses in Washington ran to more than $2 million. The group got its money’s worth and wants to keep it, you can rest assured.
Barring the possibility that pigs start flying, look for the NRA to engage in evasions about everything other than guns that may have come into play in murdering 20 children at Sandy Hook Elementary School — everything from mental health to violent video games.
Two people in Portland, Oregon, were injured in a shooting involving federal agents on Thursday, authorities...
