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Article snippet: NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. — The National Rifle Association (NRA) and many Second Amendment advocates mostly stayed silent in the week following the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Fla. Not anymore. At a major gathering of conservatives here Thursday, the NRA and many of its loyal members went on the offensive, railing against fresh efforts to pass gun control measures in the wake of the Parkland shooting that took the lives of 17 high school students and faculty members. “Never forget these words: To stop a bad guy with a gun it takes a good guy with a gun,” NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre told the crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). LaPierre’s appearance near the start of the three-day conference was no coincidence. It followed a panel where one guest blasted CNN’s Wednesday town hall in Parkland on gun violence as a “Trotskyite show trial,” as well as a fiery speech by NRA spokeswoman Dana Loesch, who blasted the FBI for failing to heed warning signs before Parkland and the media for exploiting such tragedies. Kicking off CPAC with Loesch and LaPierre sent an undeniable message. Conservatives are raring for a fight over gun rights, and the backlash to the Parkland shooting has only hardened their resolve. “If you are just going to sit there and spread lies and say someone like me who is an NRA member is a baby killer or a mass murderer, or I have blood on my hands, that’s offensive to me,” said a CPAC attendee from Ohio named Amy, who asked tha... Link to the full article to read more