NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – First came the attacks in Paris where 130 people were killed. Then the mass shooting in Bunny Friend Park in New Orleans that injured 17 and Wednesday’s tragedy in San Bernardino, California, that took the lives of 14. It is this recent violence that has prompted the Orleans Parish District Attorney, Leon Cannizzaro, to ask the National Rifle Association for their help.
In a statement issued Thursday, Cannizzaro said, “If the NRA truly wants to protect the second amendment rights of law-abiding citizens, then I invite them to come to the table and be a part of the solution rather than an organization with a single word vocabulary, ‘No.’
“I believe in a citizen’s right to responsibly possess a firearm. I, however, do not believe that the second amendment is a rock that violent criminals should be allowed to hide behind to ensure a steady supply of their tools-of-the-trade.”
But NRA training counselor David Ramey thinks otherwise.
“Without more enforcement to make sure that people realize if they do something with a gun illegally, that they’re going to go to jail no matter what you draft, it’s not going to change anything,” says Ramey.
Ramey says the recent violence has resulted in an uptick in attendance in concealed/carry classes, not to mention an extensive amount of background checks.
“It’s because people are afraid and they realize that the police are not going to be there before the shots are fired and they’ve got to do something to help themselves try and stay alive before the police arrive,” says Ramey.
