Petrelis Files

WTF? AZ Republic: 
NRA Wants Guns at Shopping Malls

Late tonight, the day when six people were killed in a armed rampage at a shopping mall in Tuscon, Arizona, as a gunman critically harmed Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and several others, the state's leading paper runs a story related to guns and violence, and not one word is said about the tragedies.

Heck, reference is made by an NRA leader to defend the right to carry guns in a shopping mall, site of the Tuscon killings and bloody attacks. Are the editors of the Arizona Republic aware of what transpired in their state today, and could they have shown some editorial smarts and either withheld this piece or amended it to reflect today's reality?

As if it's not bad enough the NRA lobbyist is quoted endorsing more guns in more public places, the merchants of blood and death want confiscated arms and bullets back in circulation instead of being destroyed, and getting more weapons on school campuses. I don't get the sense the NRA is at all interested in pausing and reflecting on the death and carnage in Tucson, even if the Arizona Republic were to delay its story and take into account new facts that came to light after the story was submitted.

Shame on paper for excluding the shootings and deaths. Shame on the NRA. From the Arizona Republic:
 

With the return of Republican Brewer and a new Republican supermajority in the House and the Senate, groups with more conservative agendas are especially optimistic that lawmakers will find time this session for their bills.

National Rifle Association lobbyist Matt Dogali said they are working on a bill that would clarify the criteria for a shooting done in self-defense.

"We are trying to change it so it says that if you are somewhere you legally have the right to be, such as a shopping mall, and you are put in a situation of imminent death or bodily harm, then you are legally able to defend yourself with lethal force if necessary," Dogali said.

The NRA also will lobby to require cities and counties to resell confiscated firearms instead of destroy them, as well as to require community colleges and universities to allow concealed weapons on campus.

Rep. Jack Harper, R-Surprise, already has submitted House Bill 2014, which would allow adults age 21 and older with a permit to carry a concealed weapon on a college campus. ...

Let us pray for the full recovery of the shooting victims today, for everyone involved and affected by the tragedy, and that some common sense and sanity breaks out in Arizona to curb gun violence.