It’s been over a year and the left leaning, mainstream media continue to grab at any straw that could shift the blame for Sandy Hook and every other tragedy involving guns, knives, sticks, stones, or even pressure cookers to the NRA.

Authorities in Connecticut on Friday released a final report on the December 2012 elementary-school massacre in Newtown, Conn., which revealed the shooter’s mother had ties to the National Rifle Assocation (NRA).

via Police Found An NRA Certificate In Adam Lanza’s Home After The Sandy Hook Shooting – Yahoo Finance.

Police in Connecticut released the bulk of their report on the events of last year’s tragedy. Predictably, the media has seized on the opportunity to discuss something other than their favorite President’s dismal failures and a Congress run a muck. The report, they say, shows that the Sandy Hook shooter’s mother had “ties to the National Rifle Association.” And what constitutes “ties to the National Rifle Association?” The mere fact she attended an NRA Basic Pistol Course and kept the certificate from said course. No NRA membership or NRA periodical publications that come to the home as a result of said membership. Nope, mere possession of a certificate from an NRA Basic Pistol class.

Point of fact, NRA’s “Basic” courses for pistol, rifle, shotgun, as well as personal defense inside or outside the home are open to ALL people of good moral standing (i.e. not a felon or legally prohibited from owning a firearm). You do not need to be an NRA member to attend an NRA course, even to become an NRA certified instructor. That said, NRA certified instructors are specifically trained to never turn someone away because of a perceived disability and to make every accommodation for anyone who wants to take the course. Unlike many liberal organizations, we don’t tell someone they can’t attend our courses because they are black, white, short, tall, fat, skinny, missing an arm, leg, or growing a finger out of their nose. We don’t judge people on their appearance or kick them to the curb because they “don’t seem quite right” as we are not mental health experts in the business of diagnosing mental illness.

Though it certainly can and should be argued that the shooter’s mother should have exercised better judgement in providing the shooter access to her guns, the fact is there was no legal reason to deny his mother her right to own a gun and the police have said as much. That said, the shooter’s mother knew he had significant behavioral issues that required treatment.  It seems that she failed to get him that treatment and by the time she got around to it, it was too late. She paid for her poor judgement with respect to securing her firearms with her life and her poor decisions enabled the shooter’s actions. How any of that is the NRA’s fault is beyond me.

-GM