The Navy Yard shooting this past week that left 12 victims dead is the result of inadequate security and doesn't point to a need for tougher gun laws, says the National Rifle Association's Wayne LaPierre.
"In a post 9/11 world, a naval base within miles of Congress, the White House" was left largely left unprotected, even though it is a "high-value terrorist target," LaPierre said on NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday.
LaPierre said his organization is calling for layers of security around U.S. military bases. Though military personnel are trained in firearms, "they're largely disarmed on our military bases," he said.
"When the good guys with guns got there, it stopped," LaPierre said.
People with mental problems, such as Navy Yard shooter Aaron Alexis, need to be committed to mental health facilities rather than be allowed to walk the streets, he said.
"I’ve been into this whole [background] check business for 20-some years," LaPierre said. "I’ve said the system is broken for 20 years and nobody listens."
The NRA supported gun-check laws because it thought mental records and criminal records would be in the national instant check system, he said.
"If we leave these homicidal maniacs on the street, they don't obey the law, they could care less about it, they're going to kill," LaPierre said. "It's practically like a plane going down the beach with a sign behind it saying, 'I'm dangerous.' And we leave them on the streets."
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