"Had the firing range instructor been armed, he could easily have put down the girl before she had the opportunity to harm him or others nearby." -- NRA VP Wayne LaPierre

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Following nearly a week of exhaustive research into the accidental shooting death of an Arizona firing-range instructor by a nine-year-old girl armed with an Uzi, investigators with the public safety wing of the National Rifle Association (NRA) have reached a new conclusion on the cause of gun-related killings. “Guns don’t kill people,” NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre stated. “Not having guns kills people.” On Thursday, the NRA presented a detailed report about the incident, drawing the conclusion that the instructor could have prevented his demise if he had also been carrying a gun.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- On January 13, retired police captain Curtis Reeves, 71, shot and killed a man in a Florida movie theater after getting into a heated altercation. Reeves confronted 43-year-old Chad Oulsen about sending text messages on his mobile phone during the previews before the main feature, "Lone Survivor." As the argument escalated, Mr. Oulsen allegedly threw popcorn at Reeves, provoking an armed response. Under the state's exceedingly broad Stand Your Ground law, a person carrying a firearm may gun down, in cold blood, any perceived assailant or ambiguous, trivial threat. Reeves was charged with second-degree murder, although legal experts suspect he will invoke Stand Your Ground to justify killing a man equipped with only popcorn. But as the National Rifle Association (NRA) points out, citing George Zimmerman's acquittal under the "Skittles Defense" for his part in the slaying of otherwise unarmed teen Trayvon Martin, confections and snack foods in the state pose serious threats to the population. The NRA has now added popcorn to its growing list of "deadly assault snacks."

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- It's been more than a year since the FBI reported no findings of evidence to substantiate racial bias in George Zimmerman's history or his shooting of a black Florida teen, Trayvon Martin. Yet Attorney General Eric Holder has tasked the Justice Department with trolling for email tips on the newly acquitted neighborhood watch volunteer from Sanford, Fla., as it considers a federal civil rights case against Zimmerman. Critics say Holder is bowing to pressure from Democratic lawmakers, civil rights leaders and organizations such as the NAACP. The National Rifle Association (NRA), which has spent large sums lobbying for lax gun controls and Stand Your Ground laws, blasted the Justice Department's efforts, stating that self-defense is a "fundamental human right," which ostensibly trumps the rights to life and liberty, as well as walking down the street with Skittles and iced tea. NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre went so far as to posit, "Jesus Christ would be alive today if he'd had a gun."

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Despite recent massacres, heated political rhetoric and calls to action, gun-related violence in the United States continues to escalate. Advocates for stricter regulations cite this disturbing trend as proof that more controls are needed to curb the threat. Those in favor of abolishing all limitations on weapons ownership point to the same trend as evidence that more people need access to military grade assault weapons to protect themselves from the swelling menace, echoing the National Rifle Association's (NRA) assertion that only "good guys with guns can stop bad guys with guns." But the dynamics of the debate changed in April with the gruesome advent of four- and five-year-old shooters. Conservative lawmakers, backed by the NRA, are now demanding compulsory gun ownership for any child over the age of two, whose parents are legal residents of the United States.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Given the high alerts, enhanced security, and police presence at the 238th Boston Marathon, would anything have foiled the bomber who executed Monday's attacks and escaped undetected? According to a Southern California branch of the National Rifle Association (NRA), gun-toting athletes and responsible bomb owners could have deterred or prevented the tragedy. Conservatives embroiled in the ongoing gun rights debate emphasized that the hostilities in Boston reiterated the need for a heavily armed citizenry. Thorn Havershabe, head of the San Narciso County chapter of the NRA -- backed by local conservative politician F. Chester Greene -- urged lawmakers on Tuesday to enforce mandatory weapons ownership and carrying policies, extending to explosives. "Only good guys with bombs can stop bad guys with bombs," Havershabe tweeted. He also called on organizers to restructure the Boston Marathon and similar events into biathlons that would equip participants with high-powered rifles.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- A mentally ill Connecticut woman killed her two grandsons Tuesday afternoon and then turned the gun on herself, according to state police. Debra Denison, 47, suffered from bipolar disorder and other mental health problems. This tragedy, to many, further illustrates the link between a faulty mental health system and overly lenient regulations for owning and carrying firearms. They cite the countless shooting deaths that have marred American communities over the last several months. But Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president of the National Rifle Association (NRA), stood by his controversial statement that preventing tragedies such as these requires more "good guys with guns." His talking points were repeated this week by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in a contentious senate hearing about reinstating assault rifle bans.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- Riding the wave of recent media attention -- and backlash -- NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre put his organization back into the news Friday, fearing being overshadowed by the heavy coverage of winter storms, a new PlayStation announcement, Justin Bieber's SNL appearance and a psychotic, murderous ex-LAPD officer on the rampage throughout Southern California, who remains the subject of a regional manhunt. When LaPierre called the impromptu press conference, reporters expected the NRA to issue a call for armed citizens to help take down Christopher Dorner, the 33-year-old former Los Angeles Police officer and Navy reservist who killed two people this week and has threatened 12 others in a bizarre revenge plot outlined in a manifesto he published about his discharge from the force in 2008. But LaPierre's outrage was instead aimed at game maker Hasbro for excluding the NRA's concept for a new Monopoly token.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In another attempt to solidify bipartisan support for tougher gun control measures amid escalating incidents of mass shootings, the White House released a photograph Saturday of President Obama firing a shotgun at Camp David. The intended message seemed to suggest that Obama not only supports Second Amendment freedoms but also enjoys squeezing off a few rounds himself, which would make his rally for increased controls on firearms permitting and heightened weapons restrictions more palatable to conservatives. The reaction to the photo, however, was more controversial than administration officials had expected. Skeptics scoffed, saying that one carefully orchestrated photo couldn't erase "a lifetime of supporting every gun ban and every gun control scheme imaginable." Comedians seized the opportunity to poke fun at the president. But the biggest surprise came from the National Rifle Association (NRA). In a stark about-face, the powerful gun lobby said the image of America's first black president armed to the teeth had inspired its members to reconsider their historic opposition to gun control. The NRA is now lobbying to ban certain types of weapons -- and their owners.