The National Rifle Association called for armed guards in every school as a reaction to last week's massacre in Newtown, Conn., prompting an immediate backlash from social media users on Friday.
During and after the press conference where the plan was unveiled, NRA-related hashtags dominated Twitter trends across the United States.
From transcript of NRA presser: "Herp, derp, herpitty derpiitty derp derp."— Blake Hounshell (@blakehounshell) December 21, 2012
WOW SERIOUSLY!!!N.R.A. Calls for Armed Guards in Schools to Deter Violence...... fb.me/1pD4rCsaH— Karizma(@KARIZMANYC) December 21, 2012
NRA I am disappoint. Please use my membership fees to educate yourself.— Roxanne (@Khemistryyy) December 21, 2012
The NRA Extremists and their operatives in Congress are seeking to undermine the fabric of Domestic Peace. Using Newtown for leverage. SICK.— _joebowman (@_joebowman) December 21, 2012
coming up with such a ridiculous plan shows how desperate the NRA are to avoid admitting they're wrong. #NRA #tsk— Julie D Irwin(@JDIrwinbooks) December 21, 2012
@nra solution is kind of like saying the solution 2 a potential nuke war is more nukes for the good guy nations. Makes sense.. What a joke!— Mike Tunnah (@miketunnah) December 21, 2012
Surely I can't be the only one who appreciates that the NRA is shooting itself in the foot with its gun control rebuttal, right?— Jeff Marchiafava (@GIJeffM) December 21, 2012
Reporter and Twitter user George Zornick pointed out that Columbine, the site of a 1999 school massacre, had armed guards:
You know who had armed guards? Columbine High School: cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/…— George Zornick (@gzornick) December 21, 2012
Some users did agree with some or all of what the NRA had to say:
I agree. RT @samsifton NRA: "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."— John T Keller (@jtkeller) December 21, 2012
I only agree with 1% of the NRA's dogma but as a former school resource officer I agree that we need one in every single school.— Yes, Another Tweet (@yesanothertweet) December 21, 2012
The NRA also in part blamed video games and other violent media for the Newtown shooting, an argument many Twitter users rejected and made fun of. "Mortal Kombat," one of the games singled out during the conference, was a trending topic during the conference.
"you know what's responsible for gun deaths? Mortal Kombat" -thing the head of the NRA actually just insisted— The Mountain Goats (@mountain_goats) December 21, 2012
Sorry guys, but I just played Mortal Kombat and I've already ripped out two hearts, harpooned somebody, and turned a ninja into a baby.— Tom McAllister (@t_mcallister) December 21, 2012
FWIW there are no guns in Mortal Kombat.— Mike Hayes (@michaelhayes) December 21, 2012
The NRA, meanwhile, set up a new website for its the campaign, dubbed "The National School Shield."
Did you watch the NRA's conference? How did you react on social media? Share in the comments.