The National Rifle Association didn't win many friends on Capitol Hill with a plan to install armed guards at every school in the country to prevent tragedies like the one in Newtown, Conn.
Democratic lawmakers, including some from Connecticut, condemned the idea outright. Republicans, meanwhile, were quiet Friday afternoon.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of California didn't watch the announcement but read Democratic Connecticut Rep. Chris Murphy's tweet: "The most revolting, tone deaf statement I've ever seen."
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) called the proposal an "arms escalation."
"I do not believe those remarks represent anywhere near a significant portion of America," Hoyer said. "I don't believe, frankly, necessarily the majority of views of responsible members of the National Rifle Association who want guns to hunt, want guns to protect their home and their house and, yes, our children."
Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal said the "NRA statement today is sadly and shamefully inadequate."
Specifically, Blumenthal said mental health, closing the gun show loophole and banning assault rifles, among other things, need to be a part of the conversation.
"The NRA will have to alter its approach if it is to be taken seriously in this national debate," he added.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has pledged to reintroduce the assault rifle ban in January, said the NRA offered "nothing more than a distraction."
She noted that she supports school districts that want to hire armed security guards, saying that 28,300 public schools already have armed security staff.
"We can't ignore the common denominator in all of these deadly massacres: access -- easy access to killing machines," Feinstein said.
Feinstein said Murphy has said he wants to play a major role in the assault rifle ban legislation. She also said former President Bill Clinton committed to doing anything he can to help.
While Democratic gun control advocates reacted with outrage, Republican lawmakers stayed noticeably silent. NRA head Wayne LaPierre blamed the media, the culture of violence, particularly in video games, for instigating shootings.
Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), who recently proposed a school safety measure that would fund security upgrades for schools and trained law enforcement, said the NRA is out of touch blaming everyone but themselves.
Rep. Mike Thompson (D-Calif.), who was named by Pelosi to lead a guns task force, said the approach was misguided.
"Everyone agrees our schools, movie theaters, shopping malls, streets and communities need to be safer. But we need a comprehensive approach that goes beyond just arming more people with more guns to make this happen," Thompson said. He supports closing loopholes in the mental health system, regulating the cultural glorification of violence and improving background checks.
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