The new NRA President, Oliver North, spoke Sunday about the deadly school shooting in Texas last week and told students they "shouldn't be afraid" to attend class, and reaffirmed the fact that limiting the Second Amendment is not the answer to the recent rash of violence in the U.S.
"I believe that we can make sure kids are protected without taking away the rights of law-abiding citizens," North, a former USMC Lt. Colonel said on "Fox News Sunday."
This story from foxnews.com says North called for metal detectors in schools and pushed the NRA's "school shield" agenda, which he said offers school's a free security assessment that includes examining how individuals enter and exit buildings.
North also suggested that a large part of the problem that leads to school shootings is young people, mostly males, are exposed to a culture of violence, combined with medication like Ritalin, which is prescribed for attention deficit, hyperactivity disorder, ADHD.
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"We are trying like the dickens to treat the symptoms, not the disease," North said. "The disease isn't the Second Amendment."
The suspected shooter in last week’s school attack is in custody on murder charges. According to reports he used his father’s shotgun and revolver to carry out the violence. He also had explosive devices found around the school and nearby, though none were exploded.
This story from ammoland.com seems to support North's assertions.
"Nearly every mass shooting incident in the last twenty years, and multiple other instances of suicide and isolated shootings all share one thing in common, and its not the weapons used.
"The overwhelming evidence points to the signal largest common factor in all of these incidents is the fact that all of the perpetrators were either actively taking powerful psychotropic drugs or had been at some point in the immediate past before they committed their crimes."
North served as a platoon commander during the Vietnam War, where he earned the Silver Star, Bronze Star with Combat V, and two Purple Hearts. When he was awarded the Silver Star, North was a Second Lt. learing Marines in Operation Virginia Ridge. After, he became an instructor at The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia.
North later began an assignment to the National Security Council (NSC), where he served as the deputy director for political-military affairs from 1981 until he was reassigned in 1986. He received his final promotion to Lt. Colonel in 1983.
While in that position he lead the hunt for the terrorists responsible for the 1983 Beirut barracks bombing that killed 299 American and French military personnel. He also helped plan the U.S. invasion of Grenada and the 1986 Bombing of Libya.
North retired from the Marine Corps in 1988 after he was indicted for conspiring to defraud the U.S. by channeling profits from U.S. arms sales to the Contra rebels in Nicaragua (the infamous Iran Contra controversy). Eventually, all charges against North were dismissed.
He has since written a number of award-winning books.
It was announced on May 7, 2018 that he would become the organization's next president, succeeding Pete Brownell. North was previously an NRA board member.
