NRA head: Kasandra Perkins should have had her own gun

David Leon Moore, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre has heard and read what the media is saying about the Jovan Belcher murder-suicide and thinks an element is missing.

"The one thing missing in that equation is that woman owning a gun so she could have saved her life from that murderer," LaPierre told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.

Belcher, a 25-year-old Kansas City Chiefs linebacker, shot and killed his girlfriend, Kasandra Perkins, the mother of their 3-month-old daughter, and then shot and killed himself Saturday morning in the parking lot of Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium.

LaPierre, responding to a question about whether there is a potentially dangerous gun culture in the NFL, said, "There is no gun culture in the NFL. You've got good Americans who love to play sports, who are disciplined, who are responsible, and they're no different from any other Americans.

"Owning guns is a mainstream part of American culture and it's growing every day. My God, there's nothing more mainstream in this country than 100 million Americans who own firearms.

"It's not a culture of athletes. It is particular behavior by particular individuals that is no different from the rest of society. We've got to stop making excuses. A murderer is a murderer."

According to Kansas City police, Belcher owned multiple guns, and they were in the house. In addition, Sports Illustrated has reported that Perkins went to shooting ranges with Belcher.