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SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- More shootings in Arizona and Alabama on Wednesday exposed what National Rifle Association (NRA) Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre called a "horrific lack of good guys with guns." On December 21, LaPierre issued an impassioned plea to arm more Americans, ascribing the recent rash of mass shootings to an under-equipped population. "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun," he said. Thorn Havershabe, head of the San Narciso County NRA chapter, called LaPierre "the only hero in America that day. The only man who cared deeply enough to offer honest assessments and real, final solutions." LaPierre, a self-described humanitarian who is deeply concerned about the welfare of the nation's embattled citizens, doesn't believe the country is suffering from a deficit of good guys -- the problem, he states, is that the government hasn't done enough to make firearms and automatic weapons available to those peace-seeking heroes. In fact, the NRA argues, lawmakers must make guns mandatory.

PHOENIX, Ariz. -- A judge has ordered Jared Lee Loughner to undergo a series of psychiatric evaluations at a dedicated facility in Springfield, Missouri, to determine if he is competent to stand trial. Loughner is accused of 49 criminal counts, including murder and attempted murder, for his alleged part in the January 2011 shooting that targeted Representative Gabrielle Giffords during a “Congress on Your Corner” rally she was hosting outside an area grocery store. Six people were killed and 13 others were injured. Loughner’s attorney argued against relocating his client to Springfield, describing Loughner as “seriously ill,” and Missouri as “cruel and unusual punishment.”