that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level in recent days we have heard no interviews being given by any members of the n.r.a. the national rifle association a very powerful lobby group in washington they've also taken taken down about taken down their facebook page another indication that this overhaul may actually go through is the fact that the largest firearms maker in the u.s. also announced on tuesday that it's being put up for sale by its owner freedom group international is the maker of the bushmaster rifle the weapons thought to have been used in friday's connecticut massacre and it's you know that massacre is considered one of the worst mass shootings in u.s. history another indication that there could be federal gun control that goes through is the fact that shares in publicly traded gun makers have been dropping for a third straight day there's also been reports of a large spike in gun sales in recent days because many believe that the federal government will in fact enforce stricter gun control but. we have been reporting in the past the n.r.a. the national rifle association is a very powerful lobby group that is doesn't want

when the one of the heavyweights in the gun control discussion is of course the national rifle association but the n.r.a. has national influence might not be as all powerful as the media would have you believe that will tell you how this gun group keeps missing the target. and a tender issue that's causing major controversy a new report out of kansas is looking at how the meat tenderizing process could be harmful to consumers usually the question is where's the beef but after this report we'll be asking what's in the bee. it's tuesday december eighteenth eight pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching r.t. . well today the nation continues to grieve the deaths of twenty six people most of them young children after the massacre at sandy hook elementary school in newtown connecticut the tragedy has ignited a debate over gun control in the u.s. even those with stonily pro-gun views have come forward saying now is the time to take a serious look at the country's gun laws many are saying this latest massacre of young children is a turning point for a call to action even rupert murdoch the m

the n.r.a. has been silent since the tragedy we haven't heard a peep until now in a brief statement this afternoon the n.r.a. said quote the national rifle association of america is made up of four million moms and dads sons and daughters and we were shocked saddened heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders in newtown the n.r.a. is prepared to offer meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again well organised ation has been portrayed as a force you simply can't reckon with dictating u.s. politics despite what you hear from the mainstream media however the n.r.a. may not be as untouchable as you might think in fact this past election proves just the opposite the n.r.a. had a less than one percent success rate in the two thousand and twelve election more than ninety nine percent of the money they spent went to losing candidates most of their funds went to towards opposing president obama as we know he's still our president they did support twenty seven winning candidates but they happen to be candidates they've barely banked on just a few hundred dollars in some cases so is the n.r.a. simply not as powerful a

and one of the heavyweights in the gun control discussion is of course the national rifle association but the n.r.a. has national influence might not be as powerful as the media would have you think and it will tell you how this group keeps missing the target. and a small step backward for law enforcement officials a giant leap forward for privacy advocates for months of pre-court puts a limit on how much digital information police can extract in criminal investigations a look at the case and the bigger implications than just a bet. it is tuesday december eighteenth four pm here in washington d.c. i'm liz wall and you're watching r t well today the nation continues to grieve the deaths of twenty six people most of them young children after the massacre at sandy hook elementary school in newtown connecticut the tragedy has ignited a debate over gun control in the u.s. even those with staunchly pro-gun views have come forward saying that the time has come to take a serious look at the country's gun laws many are saying this latest massacre of young children is a turning point for a call to action eve

the nation" with bob schieffer. >> schieffer: and good morning, again. we start this morning with david keene, who is the president of the national rifle association. friday the n.r.a. made its first public station since the newtown shooting and the reaction from the gun control vacation was scathing, no reaction there. lloyd grove of the "daily beast" summed up the reaction by saying the reviews were so brutal they would close a broadway show on opening night. this was news conference a mistake, mr. keene? >> not at all. and, fortunately, we're not on broadway. this isn't a joke. you know, we remained silent right after newtown because we didn't think it was appropriate to comment at time. but now we've come out and looked at it and the question on everybody's minds we tried address is what do you do to prevent this from happening in the future? you know, it was interesting, bob, because that week i was in israel. and they had a spate of school shootings in the 70s and they decided they needed to have security at their schools. they started out with volunteers. they eventually institutional tides and now they have armed security at the schools and they stopped the

the national rifle association event. inside two protestors disrupted proceedings twice. the n.r.a. is a powerful lobby inner the constitutional rights to bear arms. n.r.a. speakers marked the start of a serious national conversation to prevent school shootings. their main idea, more guns in schools. >> the only way -- the only way to stop a monster from killing our kids is to be personally involved and informsed in a plan of absolutely protection. the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. >> the n.r.a. is launching a national school shield program to work with schools to beef up security on sight. >> i call on congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. >> this was less of a press conference, more like an n.r.a. event to which the media had been invited. journalists tried to find out if their this conversation would involve working directly be the white house. the leadership refused to answer saying they'd take questions from journalists next week. the white

the n.r.a. they put out a statement saying that the national rifle association of america is made up of four million moms and dads, sons and daughters, and that they are planning a news conference to talk about that but they are prepared to make what they describe as meaningful contributions to help make sure this never happens again. what would you like to hear the n.r.a., you're a member of the n.r.a., you're supported by the n.r.a. what would you like to hear them contribute as a meaningful conversation. >> one of the instruments that are being used. are are there guns that were developed by the military as technology has advanced and has allowed our soldiers to become better, more effective in iraq and afghanistan. all of those weapons, should they be able to be slightly modified and then sold on a commercial market? what kind of... how much restraint does it put on a lawful target shooter if they want to have to change out a clip after every ten shells or ten or 15 shells? i'm not sure what the right number should be here but i think the n.r.a. ought to have a voice in this conversation as well

the national rifle association broke its silence today following the newtown tragedy. the executive vice president of the n.r.a., wayne laperriere, said that schools would be safer if they were protected with guns. here's chip reid. >> reporter: wayne laperriere gave no ground to gun control advocates who want to ban assault weapons and magazines that hold more than ten rounds. instead, he shifted the focus to the n.r.a.'s plan for securing the nation's schools. >> the only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. what if when adam lanza started shooting his way into sandy hook elementary school last friday he'd been confronted by qualified armed security? i call on congress today to act immediately to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every single school in this nation. >> reporter: he lashed out at the entertainment industry for its violent movies and video games. >> isn't fantasizing about killing people as a way to get your kicks really the filthiest form of pornography? >> reporter: he blamed the federal government for failing to create a national dat

the n.r.a. bloke his silence with another call to put armed police officers in every school across the land, a national rifle associationcutive said today his organization remains silent in the days after the shooting out of respect. he accused his critics of exploiting the tragedy for political gain. he suggested that an armed guard could have potentially stopped the shooter. >> what if, when adam lanza started shooting his way into sandy hook elementary school last friday he had been confronted by qualified we armed security? will you at least admit it is possible that 26 little kids, the 26 innocent lives might have been spared that day? >>gregg: he made similar arguments after the virginia tech miser that killed 32 people. survivors and relatives of the victims of another recent mass shooting at a movie theater in aurora, colorado, called on lawmakers to take steps to prevent gun violence. >> the most ardent gun supporters have always recognized it is about keeping the guns out of dangerous people. if you respect law-abiding citizens' right to own firearms it only works if you do have a way of keeping weapons out of

the issue say the national rifle association that has been silent since newtown from respect of the mourning will "push back against the vocal gun control lobby." industry sources say the n.r.a. will broaden the discussion to include hollywood and the gaming industry and the group will challenge the effort underway to restore the ban on assault weapons that existed from 1994 to 2004. gun advocates point out the columbine massacre carried out with assault weapons, occurred in the middle of the ban's life span. >> if you look at the data here, we ban this one time in 1994. if you look at the natural insurance institute of justice study on the ban, and the university study from the university of california berkeley, not pro gun right thought, there was no impact on lowering homicide right and no impact on lowering mass murders and no impact on the number of bullet as victim was shot with. >>reporter: senator feinstein, a democrat, says the first day of the next congress, january 3, she will inrow dues an updated version of the ban she authored two decades ago. more than 100 kinds of firearms will be outlawed but legally owned ones will be grandfathered in. >> everyone walks aro

the n.r.a. misfired. >> i cannot believe those remarks represent anywhere near a significant portion of america. i don't believe, frankly, that they represent necessarily the majority views of responsible members of the national rifle association to hunt, want guns to protect their home and their house, and yes, our children. >> reporter: i'm getting lots of comments on twitter including this from roger, who says protect the kids, harden the targets. many schools have police presence bad guys will not go where good guys have guns. feel free to weigh in at my page rick leventhal as the debate for guns restrictions. >> kelly: i have a feeling you'll get a lot of feedback. >> reporter: i already am. >> jamie: and the plan to avert the so-called fiscal cliff. house speaker john boehner is putting the ball in the court of the president and the democrats. and time is running out. will they come up with a solution? steve centanni is following this in washington. >> reporter: yeah, the fiscal cliff may be looming, but both sides have put negotiations on hold for now, to take a christmas holiday. no deal was reached this week to keep taxes from going up for everyone at the end of the year. house speaker john boehner, while saying he's

connecticut and we would like to make a few remarks in response to the national rifle association's press conference this morning. this morning the n.r.a. said that they wanted to have a conversation about security in our schools. and i'd like to respond to that call. if school districts want to hire armed security guards, i support that. it's a decision each school district should make. and many school districts already have armed guards. in fact, 28300 public schools, that's about a third of all public schools have armed security staff. in fact there were two armed law enforcement officers who twice engaged the shooters at column bine. that didn't present 15 from being killed and 23 wounded. copies of the investigative transcript with exactly what happened are available right at the back of the room. the n.r.a.'s blanket call to arm our schools is really nothing more than a distraction, it's a delay tact i can. it's a distraction from the vablet of military style assault weapons on our streets, in our schools, used at malls, used at workplaces, used in movie theaters and they allow for much death and destruction. it's a distraction f

mainstream media mock being the head of the n.r.a., all shoes should have guards, a gallup poll shows 54% of americans have a favorable opinion of the national rifle associationwhy is the mainstream media so harsh on them? joining us now is a contributor to the daily collar, good morning to you jeff. >> good morning, thanks for having me on. >> i would say so. and it's a little rough on the n.r.a., but if you look at the overall approval rating, they think higher than president obama and higher than the media covering as well. >> dave: maybe the speech from wayne lapierre didn't represent perfectly members of the n.r.a. i know, some weren't happy about maybe the lack of consoling to the victims and maybe some sensible proposal for some sort of reform in this country and maybe that's the problem here is that speech may not exactly represent the n.r.a. members in this country. >> right, now, i think the n.r.a. does have some pr issues to work out, you know and leading up to that press conference, they talked a lot about some major reforms and probably left a little people wondering, probably expecting something a little bit bigger. >> dave: the n.r.a. has milli

the n.r.a. is prepared to give meaningful contributions to make sure this never happens again. they are planning to hold a news conference on friday, december 21. part of the statement this afternoon from the national rifle association. earlier today, advocates and family members of gun violence had gathered for a news conference. dan gross, the president of the brady campaign talked about the recent school shootings in connecticut and later with congressional leaders for more action on gun control. this briefing is about 40 minutes. >> gun violence has inflicted pain on every corner of our country ending lives far too soon. last friday's shooting shook all of us to the core. no parent should have to endure the anguish and sorrow that families are going through today or these families that are here with us today have experienced. before i came to congress, i served as mayor of providence and one of the most difficulties is to meet with mothers and fathers who were victimized. no words of mine could ever match the pain they felt. recent tragedy in newtown is only the most recent of a long series of mass killings but this incident is especially horrificic because it involved the slaughter of 20 innocent children. i ho

n.r.a. statement, in his words, sadly, shamefully inadequate. senator blumenthal joins us from capitol hill. senator, thanks for coming in. let me get your reaction to what wayne lapierre of the national rifle associationpolice guards in every school in the country to protect our kids. is that a good idea? >> not a good idea if they are volunteers, as he suggests, because he wants to save money by avoiding payment for them. the watchdog dads, not a good idea. but better school security, certainly a very important goal. and it ought to be part of a comprehensive, serious, substantial set of ideas that have the goal of real change, taking the assault weapons off the streets, stopping sales of them, as well as the high capacity magazines, better background checks, more of them, covering the 40% that right now are completely uncovered in the gun show loophole. and, of course, mental health initiatives. there are set ideas, no single one of them is going to accomplish this goal. but better school security can be part of an overall program, not the vigilante approach that seems to be suggested by the n.r.a. today. >> he did suggest that it would be appropriate for congress to spend some more money, to approp