Politics & Government

After Newtown, NRA Ready to Make 'Meaningful Contributions'

Fairfax-headquartered group issues statement about preventing future tragedies after shooting that killed 28, including the gunman, in Connecticut.

After days of silence, the National Rifle Association, headquartered in Fairfax, has released a statement on the tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., saying it will make "meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again."

In the release, the organization begins to explain its silence, saying: "Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting."

Critics had called out the group in the days following the shooting: As citizens and legislators began to fall on either side of a debate about what, if at all, should be done about gun laws, many wondered why the group was absent from the conversation.

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The organization released its statement Tuesday to the press

The organization announced it will hold a press conference Friday in Washington, D.C. 

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More details on Friday's press conference will be released when timing is deemed "appropriate," according to the statement.

The statement comes after President Barack Obama said he wanted to tighten gun laws in light of Friday's shootings.

Trenton teacher Mark Hoffman opposed the bill despite being a gun owner.

"I have several (guns) in my home, licenced and legal, yet just the fact that students would know adults have firearms would generally scare them," Hoffman said.

He added he does not believe his 13 and 8-year-old daughters are old enough to handle guns, but, when they are ready, he would "be happy to teach them how to handle a gun."

"Gun ownership isn't something we’ve really gotten into as a family," Hoffman said.

On the Trenton-Grosse Ile Patch Facebook page, readers have debated the issue of gun control laws, including Gov. Snyder's decision to veto the bill that would have allowed concealed weapons in gun-free zones.

Tracey Feeback-King posed the questions, "Shouldn't the students have some fear of their teachers? Isn't that fear what stops them from making bad choices?"

"So, now if this kind of tragedy happens again (and I sincerely hope it never does) nobody in the school will be able to stand against the intruder to stop them," Feeback-King said on Facebook. "Doesn't sound too smart to me."

Other Trenton and Grosse Ile residents, however, disagreed.

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