Congress should "appropriate whatever is necessary" to put armed police officers in every school in the United States, the executive vice president of the National Rifle Association told reporters in Washington on Friday.

"If we truly treasure our kids more than our money, more than our celebrities ... we must give them the greatest level of protection possible - ... properly trained, armed good guys," Wayne LaPierre said.

LaPierre, whose comments come in the wake of last week's shooting that killed 20 children and six women at a Connecticut elementary school, said the media demonizes gun owners, but that guns in the hands of "good guys" are desired by everyone in the moments they find themselves in danger.

LaPierre said former U.S. Rep. Asa Hutchinson, R-Arkansas, will lead an NRA effort to help schools develop safety programs.

Given federal spending in areas such as foreign affairs, "can't we afford to put a police officer in every single school?" LaPierre asked.

There were at least 132,180 public and private schools in the United States in the 2009-2010 school year, according to U.S. Department of Education.

"For all the noise and anger directed at us ... nobody has addressed the most important, pressing and immediate question we face: How do we protect our children right now ... in a way that we know works?" LaPierre said.

He said media outlets report "untrue" claims about firearms. "They don't know what they are talking about," he said.

LaPierre did not appear to signal that the NRA was willing to consider any of the various gun control proposals floated since the Connecticut shooting.