NRA's LaPierre: 'Let them be damned!'

Wayne LaPierre, the CEO of the National Rifle Association, let loose against the media and government who have recently characterized the gun lobbyist's talking points as "crazy."

"Let them be damned!" roared LaPierre.

In a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference, LaPierre accused gun-control advocates of offering "illogical" solutions to the problems of gun violence.

"They denigrate, and they call us 'crazy' for holding fast to [our opposition to gun control]. In their distorted view of the world, they're smarter than we are; they're special; they're more worthy than we are; they know better than we do," he said. "The liberal media can keep hating on me, but I'm still standing."

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LaPierre dismissed the Obama administration's efforts to curb gun violence as ineffective and an infringement on Second Amendment rights. He described Democrats' calls for expanding background checks as a "placebo" to which criminals won't submit.

"There are only two reasons for government to create that federal registry of gun owners, to tax them or to take them," LaPierre said.

LaPierre reserved his harshest criticism for Janet Napolitano's Department of Homeland Security, which suggested in a recent Web video that citizens use objects like scissors when faced by an active shooter.

"Scissors? That's their answer?" LaPierre exclaimed. "To protect our children at school, we recommend a trained professional with a gun, and they recommend scissors? And they say we're crazy? It's sheer madness."

LaPierre has been the public face of the NRA in the wake of the mass shooting last year in Newtown, Conn., in which 20 children and 6 adults were shot and killed in an elementary school. He used his speech to once again express his support for putting armed guards in schools across the country.

"There's not a mom or a dad anywhere who wouldn't feel safer seeing a police car in parking lot when they drop their kids off to school," he said.

He also blasted the "political advice" from "elites" in government who have proposed unconventional defense methods for women facing attacks.

LaPierre mocked Vice President Joe Biden for his advice that women fire a shotgun into the air if confronted by an attacker.

"Honestly, have they lost their minds over at the White House?"

The crowd cheered in approval.

"Keep your advice, we'll keep our guns," LaPierre concluded. "The one thing a violent rapist deserves to face is a good woman with a gun."