National Rifle Association to Respond to Newtown Shootings in Washington Friday

Days after the Newtown tragedy, Virginia-based gun advocacy group announces plans to offer “meaningful contributions.”

The National Rifle Association, the nation's most prominent gun lobbying group, will speak out Friday in Washington on the Newtown school shootings. “Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting,” stated an NRA press release four days after the shootings. Since the Aurora, CO, shootings in July 2012, media outlets have sought a response from the NRA, a Fairfax, VA-based nonprofit that, according to its website, is “widely recognized today as a major political force and as America's foremost defender of Second Amendment rights.” The group has stayed silent and suspended some of its social media, including a 1.7 million fan …

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