By: Kayla Pasacreta

Following the mass shooting at Majory Stoneman High School that left 17 people dead, gun control has been at the forefront of the national conversation, as student activists are demanding lawmakers be held accountable to their ties to gun lobbyists. The National Rifle Association (NRA), which notably went dark after the Las Vegas shooting, can no longer avoid speaking out about the presence of guns in society.  The NRA is finally speaking out...but, their stance is still cringeworthy. 

During CNN's Wednesday night town hall, NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch took to the stage to represent the five million members of the NRA. During her appearance, she said "this insane monster" shouldn't have had access to a gun, and called out the fault of the FBI to follow the warning signs that could have possibly prevented the Parkland shooter from obtaining a gun. Still, Loesch did not voice support for raising the gun age from 18 to 21. Loesch was called out by sheriff Israel, " You just told this group of people you’re standing up for them. You’re not standing up for them until you say, ‘I want less weapons.’" Though Loesch voiced support for the student survivors, she failed to propose any actual policy change.

In her Thursday morning address to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Dana Loesch took a strikingly more combative and less sympathetic tone.

Wayne La Pierre, NRA executive Vice-President, went on to continue to focus on critiquing the media, "As usual, the opportunists waited not one second to exploit tragedy for political gain,” La Pierre continued, "They hate the NRA, the elites don’t care one wit about school children. If they truly cared, they would protect them.” Pierre went on to accuse the media and the left of trying to completely repeal the second amendment, "Their goal is to eliminate the Second Amendment and our firearms freedoms so they can eliminate all individual freedoms.”