(Springfield, VA) — For the second time in two weeks, a criminal thug steals weapons from a cop and then goes on a shooting rampage. But after the recent slayings at a Minnesota high school, the gun control lobby still insists upon punishing law-abiding Americans — even though gun control would have done nothing to keep guns out of the bad guys’ hands.

Gun Owners of America today chided the gun control lobby for being blinded by their own dogma and for “shooting themselves in the foot.”

“First there was Brian Nichols who, after stealing a gun from a deputy in an Atlanta court house, killed four people,” said GOA Director of Communications Erich Pratt. “Then, a 16-year-old teenager in Minnesota stole guns from his grandfather — who was a cop — and used one of the weapons to kill several students and adults at a Minnesota high school.

“Even if the Brady Bunch were successful in disarming the entire nation and turning us into a larger version of Washington, DC, bad guys would continue to get guns. They could buy them on the black market or steal them — amazingly enough — even from the police!” Pratt said.

“Nevertheless, the Brady Center’s website states that the Minnesota shooting demonstrates the problems with ‘the ready availability of ever-deadlier weapons’ in our society. Does the Brady Center realize that guns will ALWAYS be available as long as police continue to arm themselves? Or are they now advocating that we disarm the police?

“The Violence Policy Center also used the Minnesota tragedy to berate the nation for its ‘love affair with guns.’ Again, does this ‘love affair’ apply to the police?” Pratt asked.

“The Brady Bunch might want to consider the common denominator in most public slayings — a common factor which shows that, while thugs like the Minnesota teenager may be criminal, they’re not stupid. After all, they usually seek out disarmed victims to perpetrate their crimes. They don’t go shoot up a police station. No, they go to where victims are defenseless — like to a school, where teachers and principals are disarmed by law.”

Gun Owners of America agrees with the 85% of the American public, who in a Research 2000 poll, indicated that a principal or teacher should be able to use “a gun at school to defend the lives of students” to stop a school massacre.

“Thankfully, there have been at least two massacres that were prevented by law-abiding gun owners,” Pratt said. “First there was Joel Myrick, an assistant principal, who defied the law and used his own gun to stop Luke Woodham’s shooting spree at a Mississippi high school in 1997. Then there were two law school students at the Appalachian School of Law who similarly used their own personal guns to stop Peter Odighizuwa’s rampage in 2002.”