Malloy: NRA’s LaPierre acts like a circus clown
(CNN) - Responding to criticism from the National Rifle Association over Connecticut's new gun laws, Gov. Dan Malloy argued the pro-gun group's executive vice president, Wayne LaPierre, is simply blowing smoke.
"Wayne reminds me of the clowns at the circus - they get the most attention. That's what he's paid to do," Malloy said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
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The Democratic governor on Thursday signed into law some of the nation's strictest gun regulations, following the state's devastating school shooting in December in Newtown, which left 20 children and six adults dead.
The new Connecticut laws include the addition of more than 100 weapons to the state’s list of banned assault weapons - including the semiautomatic Bushmaster rifle, one of the firearms used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre. The law also bans the sale of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, as well as armor-piercing bullets. Buyers will need a certificate to buy ammunition.
It also requires background checks for all gun purchases.
LaPierre said this week that the only people who will follow the new regulations are law-abiding gun owners, not criminals.
"I think the problem with what Connecticut did is the criminals, the drug dealers, the people that are going to do horror and terror, they aren't going to cooperate," LaPierre said on Fox News. "I mean, all you're doing is making the lawbooks bigger for the law-abiding people."
Asked who will be most affected by the new laws, Malloy said they'll be "probably a little tougher on everybody."
"This guy is so out of whack, it's unbelievable," Malloy told CNN's chief political correspondent, Candy Crowley, referring to LaPierre.
Connecticut became the third state to pass tough measures since the December rampage in Newtown. New York and Colorado passed gun control legislation limiting magazine capacity, among other provisions.
Malloy pointed to the fact that the overwhelming majority of Americans favor the idea of more background checks, a proposal found in legislation currently sitting before the U.S. Senate. The NRA, however, opposes that bill.
"I can't get on a plane, as the governor of the state of Connecticut, without somebody running a background check on me. Why should you be able to buy a gun? Or buy armor-piercing munitions? It doesn't make any sense. He doesn't make any sense," he said.
Another controversial measure in the Connecticut law is the requirement to register pre-existing magazines that hold more rounds than the new limit. Malloy said the registry was needed so that there are no new high-capacity magazines in Connecticut, and so law enforcement can tell the difference between the ones that already existed in the state and the new ones.
“If you bring a magazine that you purchased in another state into our state, it's illegal. Period,” he said.
The NRA last week released detailed recommendations for its proposal to train and arm adults to keep watch in schools as a way to protect kids from shooters. It also had proposals for mental health programs.
Asked if there was anything in the NRA plan that he agreed with, Malloy said "precious little," adding that schools need tougher protection barriers from intruders - but not necessarily armed guards.
"What this is about is the ability of the gun industry to sell as many guns to as many people as possible - even if they're deranged, mentally ill, a criminal background, they don't care. They want to sell guns," Malloy argued.
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Thank God we have the NRA to protect our second amendment rights from the liberals who want to take them away. No doubt in my mind that background checks and bans on certain weapons would only be the beginning. Once the liberals realize that doesn't solve anything (they refuse to get into what the real problems are) they would go further. That's why we need the NRA!
Harlon B. Carter was the real voice of the NRA until he was forced out by the Nuts currently running the show.
It is true that the real criminals get guns when they want them, but the ones who massacre people in theaters and schools have no real criminal records and with the speed they were able to gun down so many it would be impossible for anyone to have responded. And that is why it makes sense to limit the number of rounds. If we can slow them down then a person with a legal weapon might have a chance to stop them.
Malloy needs to learn how to give straight answers to straight questions.
I watched and was amazed at how small minded the man is.
His petty name calling won't bring anyone to the table to make children safer, so it's pretty clear safety for children isn't his real goal.
Anti-gun crowd, led by this nincompoop evidently, will not rest till they manage to pass legislation against guns...I'll vote against any Missouri legislator that agrees with the anti-gun nuts
Once again, the liberal media, spreading lies: "including the semiautomatic Bushmaster rifle, one of the firearms used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.". Could we please put this to rest!?!?!? There was NO semi-automatic rifle USED at Sandy Hook that day!!!! The police said that, the coroner said that!!!! Why does the media insist on continuing to sday somethign that is NOT TRUE!?!?!!
I could not agree more with Connecticut's governor, and I applaud Connecticut for the actions they've taken.
Newtown: We haven't forgotten. Our prayers are still with you, and we know that tears and prayers are meaningless without action.
It may take a while, but things will change and the laws will respond to what the majority wish to enact.
Why do comments about the looney democratic politicians never get posted here?
The Governor is an embarassment to his state. That comment is very unprofessional for a governor. He cant talk any logical sense so he uses typical leftist talk to try and smear the opposition. The Govenor should have been Hitlers right hand man.
Malloy is sooooooo right about LaPierre!
i guess when you don't have real answers and solutions you call others names. standard operating procedure for the far left democrat party. obama did it and got re-elected. he proved to the american people tha4 4 years of failure can be overcome with name calling.
This has been up for five hours and the NRA nuts aren't all over it. Must be sleeping off Saturday night escapades.
How much dumber can these democrats get? Do they really think and believe what they doing is going to stop the bad guy. All they do is take away the rights of law abiding citizens and do nothing to the criminal or insane to prevent them from doing what they are going to do. People will continue to kill innocent people.
The lives of children vs. gun sales to maintain profits. Is there really a choice here?
Wayne LaPierre is merely a puppet for the firearm industry.
Wayne's whole gig is to say things that are so outrageous that you hate the NRA. The point is that you hate the NRA and not the gun manufacturers. You might have noticed that their job in this whole charade is to keep their mouths shut and not say one word. Let Wayne run his mouth so the NRA takes the heat.
Seriously? Conn already had some of the strictest gun laws, and that did not stop this crazy person from doing a horrible thing, why suddenly are more laws and restrictions going to work? Laws are there only to punish those that won't do the moral thing in the first place. I don't need a law to tell me it's wrong to kill another human, let alone a child. Telling me, I can't have X amount of rounds in a magazine or that this gun is ok but this one is not, is about as silly as it gets. We don't have a gun violence problem in this country WE HAVE A VIOLENCE problem! Take away the gun from gun violence, what do you have, VIOLENCE! Way to go conn. you did absolutely nothing to stop crime or crazy people, because guess what??? THEY DON'T CARE WHAT LAWS THEY BREAK!. wow, sad.
LaPierre has had his clown moments, but this isn't one of them. Connecticut is going to see nothing positive of this at all. Glad I live in a state that doesn't make gun laws based off political agenda.
Hopefully this causes many liberals to move to Connecticut.. it is their dilution that makes them hard to beat. As they gather together in stronghold states it will be much easier to beat them in the future.
While it is true the NRA does in fact represent the firearms manufacturers over the gun owners, the citizens of America must be vigilant against ANY gun-control measures because we all know the crooked NewWorldOrder government does indeed have a secret agenda to completely disarm the population, making it much easier for them to force us into marshall-law and total compliance with their hidden agenda. This is a FACT. We must draw the line in the sand here. We may not all agree to like "guns"... but I am sure we all value "freedom" very much. We lose our gun rights, you watch how fast we will lose our basic fundamental freedoms. You have been warned.
I'm fine with the NRA but they need a much better spokesperson.
A 'feel good, does nothing' bill signed into law that if I was a betting person would wager a vast majority will be ruled against when it finally reaches the SCOTUS, and it will.
And Governor, if you truly believe that a 'vast majority' of Americans believe in your stance, then why don't you have a public up or down vote on the bill that you shoved down the throats of your citizenry? Why not spearhead a movement to have the 2nd Amendment repealed if a 'vast majority' of Americans feel the way you do? Only 38 out of 50 states have to ratify it...
Bills like this, and politicians like this do only one thing... move the atomic clock closer to midnight...
LaPierre is not a clown. He is a well-paid shill for the gun industry, nothing more. He shills for the gun industry while posing as a 2nd Amendment supporter. Baloney. He only supports the gun industry. He only tries to twist the 2nd amendment's intention so that he can sell more guns.
Gov. Malloy is inspirational! The next time the NRA calls asking for more money, I'll send them some instead of saying I paid my dues.
The NRA are shrills for the gun industry. That industry is rolling in $$$$ these days thanks to all the paranoia and fear-mongering of the NRA and their paid cronies in Congress. Heck, the Second Amendment isn't even about arms os a personal nature, it was written back in the colonial ear when the British disarmed our colonial militias. Today the militia is gone with the National Guard being the closet remnant. Nobody is looking to ban hunting weapons, personal defense weapons, the sane are asking why everyone can't get a background check and why we need to arm the crazies with assault weapons. The USA has the highest level of gun violence in the Western world. Australia, hardly a hot bed pf liberalism, has some of the toughest gun laws ever enacted after their own mass killing. Their gun violence has plummeted yet hunters still hunt the Outback. The US is on a downward trajectory of stupidity it appears. If one new gun law stops one loonie from killing one child that is a BIG WIN to me! Makes me wonder what Lord Jesus would be packing....a .38 or .44? After all He never knows when he has to pop a cap.