The National Rifle Association (NRA) did not make extensive comments on the Virginia Tech shootings as it concluded its annual conference in St. Louis. There appears to be nothing about the incident on the NRA website. Instead of bringing up the issue of gun control, a former NRA president simply repeated the famous line of "guns don't kill, people do":
1. Will stricter gun control laws be passed as a result with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress? (I doubt it; the NRA is a very strong lobby and the Dems have other priorities ahead of this issue.)
2. Will international students be discouraged from studying in the US? (Maybe--their enrollment has been going down ever since they tightened regulations on international students in the wake of 9/11 and this incident could further the image of US educational institutions as hotbeds for disturbed individuals. Instead of "going postal," we may now have "going to college" in slang terms.)
3. Will there be a backlash against Koreans in particular and Asians in general? (Unfortunately, this is likely--the same thing happened the last time around with Arabs in the wake of 9/11. Korean officials are already gearing up for this possibility.)
In a prepared statement, the group sent its "deepest condolences to the families ... and everyone else affected by this horrible tragedy.'' It said it would not comment further.Here are some questions looking forward (the "pinup" image of NRA President Sandy Froman is from Trey Ellis of the Huffington Post, by the way) -Former NRA President Bob Corbin declined to say what the slaying might mean for NRA's public image.
The former Arizona attorney general says "they ought to look at the person, not the gun."
1. Will stricter gun control laws be passed as a result with a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress? (I doubt it; the NRA is a very strong lobby and the Dems have other priorities ahead of this issue.)2. Will international students be discouraged from studying in the US? (Maybe--their enrollment has been going down ever since they tightened regulations on international students in the wake of 9/11 and this incident could further the image of US educational institutions as hotbeds for disturbed individuals. Instead of "going postal," we may now have "going to college" in slang terms.)
3. Will there be a backlash against Koreans in particular and Asians in general? (Unfortunately, this is likely--the same thing happened the last time around with Arabs in the wake of 9/11. Korean officials are already gearing up for this possibility.)
