Gun Group Chief Says Industry Didn’t Cause Newtown : NPR
"There’s a dirty little secret here in the wake of Newtown," said Ladd Everitt, spokesman for the Washington, D.C.-based Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. "One of the primary areas for marketing and growth in the gun industry right now is assault weapons. The other is compact style handguns for people who carry guns in public."
"What’s sexy and promoted is military-style assault weapons, not bolt-action deer hunting rifles," Everitt said. "In truth, the lobbying of the NSSF and their partners at the NRA is the sole reason we now live in an America where homicidal maniacs are allowed to stockpile firearms, often legally." …
The 35th annual SHOT show was closed to the public and was covered by a limited number of reporters and photographers. Foundation spokesman Bill Brassard Jr. told The Associated Press the group was swamped by media requests and stopped accepting applications following the Newtown shooting.
"By shutting out the news media, NSSF hopes that what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," said Josh Sugarmann, head of the Violence Policy Center gun-control advocacy group in Washington, D.C., and a native of Newtown, Conn. He accused the foundation of "putting a happy face on the weapons of war it helps market … while ignoring the inevitable tragedies that result."