Nutter: NRA has no 'human decency'

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter ripped the National Rifle Association for using President Barack Obama’s two daughters in an ad, declaring it “beyond the bounds of human decency” at a congressional hearing Wednesday.

“As a father, I find it reprehensible, disgusting and beyond the bounds of human decency that the NRA would place an ad on television attacking President Obama’s daughters,” Nutter said to applause from the dais at a meeting of the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, adding: “The NRA has struck a new low and that should be removed immediately.”


( PHOTOS: Politicians speak out on gun control)

The NRA released an ad Tuesday night calling the president an “elitist hypocrite” for opposing the NRA’s plan to put armed staff in schools while his own daughters are protected by the Secret Service. The White House condemned the ad earlier Wednesday.

Nutter, the president of theU.S. Conference of Mayors, gave the panel of roughly 30 Democrats policy recommendations they largely wanted to hear, endorsing a ban on assault weapons, stronger penalties for straw purchases and the mandatory background checks for private gun sales.

Newtown, Conn. superintendent Janet Robinson also drew applause from the dais after she read the letter a fourth grader named Ava from the beleaguered suburb wrote to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi asking for a ban on semi-automatic weapons and large capacity magazines.

“In Newtown’s municipal center, there are hundreds of thousands of cards and pictures from children and adults from all over America,” Robinson said, reading the letter and holding up a poster with images of the town center. “It’s so sad. I think people against changing the gun laws should walk through the long hallway and read one card out of every box and realize how many people want this change.”

While Robinson’s original testimony didn’t include any policy recommendations, she voiced opposition to arming teachers when asked by members.

“I have great respect for guns,” Robinson said. “My dad used to take to an old ranch in New Mexico and teach me how to shoot. I have great respect for them. … Teachers are teachers. And if you think about elementary teachers, elementary teachers just love kids. They’re not gonna go packing and sit on the floor on the rug and read to the kids with a gun at their hip.”

“There was some very insensitive individual, who will go unnamed, but immediately after this — and I did not watch TV after this, made some complaint that if [Sandy Hook Elementary School Principal Dawn Hochsprung] had just had a weapon in her desk, she could’ve taken care of it,” Robinson continued. “Number one: She wasn’t at her desk, and no good principal is. So that means she would have to be carrying it around. And what if she’s like [former New York Giants receiver Plaxico Burress] and shot herself in the foot? How many kids could get injured with inexperienced elementary school teachers walking around with guns? It’s not even logical.”

Robinson’s unnamed individual is likely Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) who said in December in reference to Hochsprung, “I wish to God she had had an M4 in her office locked up and so when she heard gunshots … she takes his head off before he can hurt those kids.”

Robinson also said she supported a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

“He shot every one of these six-year olds three to 11 times,” Robinson said, her voice dropping to a whisper. “That wasn’t necessary. … Maybe Dawn and the people who came out could’ve stopped him. They didn’t have a chance with a semi-automatic weapon. And those six-year-old bodies didn’t have a chance.”

Nutter wasn’t the only witness at the hearing to criticize the NRA.

“Please do not be swayed by the line that the only way to combat a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” said Emily Nottingham, the mother of Gabe Zimmerman, a Gabrielle Giffords staffer who died in the Tucson, Ariz., mass shooting just over two years ago. “In fact, there was a good guy with the gun at the Tucson shooting. But he almost mistakenly shot the citizen hero who had tackled the shooter. I do not want to carry around an assault rifle to go to the grocery store to buy broccoli or take a grandchild to soccer practice.”

Chaska, Minn. Police Chief Scott Knight also testified at the hearing.