'The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,' LaPierre says. NRA: Armed guards in schools

The National Rifle Association stunned Washington observers Friday when the group’s CEO announced a plan to install armed guards at every school in the country — its response to the Connecticut shooting last week that left 20 children dead.

Wayne LaPierre called the idea the National School Shield program, which would rely on local police forces. It will be led by former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-Ark.).


( Also on POLITICO: 10 top quotes from NRA’s Wayne LaPierre)

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” LaPierre said. “Would you rather have your 911 call bring a good guy with a gun from a mile away … or a minute away?”

LaPierre acknowledged police budgets across the country are stretched and urged Congress to “appropriate whatever is necessary” to fund the program. He said retired police and military could also be tapped to serve in the program, which he wants enacted in January.

“We can deploy them to protect our kids now,” he said. “We can immediately make America’s schools safer — relying on the brave men and women of America’s police force.”

During the lengthy press conference, LaPierre also blamed the media and video game industry for glorifying violence.

He did not take any questions from the press.

This is not the first time the NRA has pushed the idea of armed guards at schools. LaPierre said the media “called me crazy” when he suggested the idea after the Virginia Tech shooting in 2007.

Richard Feldman, former NRA lobbyist and president of the Independent Firearm Owners Association, said he supports the NRA’s position but that it will be criticized because of the messenger.

“The pushback is because it’s the NRA saying it, not what the NRA said,” Feldman said.

Other observers had expected the NRA to strike a more cooperative tone at the media event since pressure is mounting in Washington for reform. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he wants a concrete plan in front of Congress by next month. And pro-gun Democrats have softened in recent days.

The political class began reacting to the event right away.

“I don’t even know where to begin. As a supporter of the Second Amendment and a supporter of the NRA — even though I’m not a member of the NRA — I just found it very haunting and very disturbing that our country now is talking about arming our teachers and our principals in classrooms,” said former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele on MSNBC immediately after LaPierre finished his comments.

Dan Gross with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence said the NRA isn’t having the discussion the public wants, calling it an “absurd debate.”

“I don’t even support talking about it,” Gross said. “It’s not the conversation the American public wants to have. Our job is to bring to bear what the American public thinks on this issue.”

The NRA had been in lockdown following the mass shooting in Newtown, Conn., that killed 20 children and 6 adults.

Gun control advocates on Capitol Hill vowed to keep the issue front and center as news organizations continued to cover the victims’ funerals in the small town.

The NRA’s response to the mass shooting is at odds with what lawmakers have been pushing on Capitol Hill, such as urging the reintroduction of the assault rifle ban and legislation that would ban extended gun magazines.

Obama has tasked Vice President Joe Biden to lead a guns commission and report back by January.

Obama also responded to the more than 400,000 people who have signed petitions on the White House’s We the People website. In a Web video Friday, Obama urged Americans to continue pushing to combat gun violence.

The NRA’s reaction to the shooting is in stark contrast to what it has typically done following shootings, when it did little more than put out a statement. The NRA isn’t stopping with the news conference. LaPierre is scheduled to give his first interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday.

Held at the historic Willard Hotel, the NRA kept a tight lid on security with at least a dozen guards, security sweep and multiple security guard checkpoints before journalists could enter the room where the news conference was held.

The event drew dozens of reporters, including high-profile journalists like New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd.

More than 50 protesters gathered outside the Willard Hotel. They held signs that read “Teach kindness, not killing” and “NRA, are you here to apologize? The ‘freedom’ you sell is killing us.”

CREDO Action touted a petition that organizers said had more than 222,000 signatures calling on the NRA to “stand down and stop blocking Congress and the President from passing gun control legislation.”