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National Rifle Association (NRA) President David Keene on Thursday promised that gun owners would do "whatever's necessary" to "get rid of those in public office" that they viewed as working to erode the Second Amendment right to bear arms.

Speaking at a rally of about 7,000 people protesting New York gun laws in Albany, Keene promised that the NRA would "soon have five million members" because of a surge of interest after lawmakers passed laws in response to the shooting of 20 elementary school children in Connecticut.

"Because of the fact that we, as believers in the Second Amendment, are willing to do something that most people in this country are not willing to do, which is not just to stand up for our rights, but to support those people who stand with us and work to get rid of those in public office who do not," the NRA president told the crowd.

"So we're with you," Keene added. "We'll help you defeat the politicians that would deprive you of your rights. We'll help you overcome these statutes in court. We'll do whatever's necessary to make certain the Second Amendment rights that we have had passed down to us are are going to be passed down to future generations."

Earlier this year, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a law to expand the state's assault weapons ban, ban high-capacity magazines and address gun ownership by those who have mental illnesses.

But if Thursday's demonstration is any indication, some gun owners in New York are going to go along with the new law quietly.

Chants at the rally in Albany included, "Cuomo's got to go" and "We will not comply."

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National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre on Sunday argued that banning assault weapons limited the 'ability to survive' and that high-capacity magazines should not be outlawed because women need more bullets.

During an interview on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace pointed out to LaPierre that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia had written that the right to bear arms described by the Second Amendment "was not unlimited."

The NRA chief countered that no new laws were necessary because "we already have all kinds of reasonable laws."

"The most basic right is to protect yourself," he asserted. "If you limit the American public's access to [assault weapons] semi-automatic technology, you limit their ability to survive."

"If someone's invading your house, you shouldn't say you only have five or six shots, you ought to have what you need to protect yourself, a woman should," LaPierre added. "Not what some politician thinks is reasonable."

Wallace also asked if the NRA regretted creating an advertisement that attacked the president because his daughters were protected by armed guards.

"It wasn't picking on the president's kids," LaPierre insisted. "The president's kids are safe, and we're all thankful for for it."

"Do you really think the president's children are the same kind of target as every school child in America?" Wallace pressed. "I think it's ridiculous and you know it, sir."

"I think there are parents all over the country that think their kids are entitled to the same amount of protection when they go to school," LaPierre declared. "It's ridiculous, Chris, for all the elites, for all that powerful and privileged and the titans industry to send their kids to schools where there's armed security, to have access to semi-automatic technology, to have access to [high-capacity] magazines..."

"My children went to the same school that the Obama children went to many years ago, there were no armed security there," Wallace interrupted. "This idea of an elite class is just nonsense, sir."

"Capitol Hill right now, they're all protected by armed security with high-cap magazines, while they sit there and try to limit the average citizen to ten because they think that's reasonable in their opinion," LaPierre replied.

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World Net Daily columnist and former Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum on Sunday insisted that Americans were entitled to armor-piercing bullets because they are "a right in our country."

The Pennsylvania Republican told an ABC News panel that conservatives "should stick to our guns" and oppose President Barack Obama's efforts to curb gun violence in the wake of the slaughter of 20 children in Newtown, Connecticut.

"Having a gun and gun ownership is part of how people can feel safer," Santorum explained. "And in my opinion, when you look at the disingenuousness of the [Obama] administration when they met with the NRA, and [Vice President] Joe Biden did. And the NRA brought up the fact that prosecutions for gun crimes and prosecutions for people who lie on their registration forms or gun forms are down under this administration. The vice president responded, 'We don't have time to devote to see whether people fill out a form right!'"

Current TV host Jennifer Granholm pointed out that there had been fewer enforcements because the National Rifle Association (NRA) had pushed Republicans to oppose any effort to confirm a head of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

"This is not about taking peoples guns away, this is about a narrow set of proposals that will enable us to help enforce the existing gun laws," Granholm explained. "The ban on assault weapons and a ban on high capacity magazines and even a ban on armor-piercing bullets are overwhelmingly supported by the citizenry. Fifty percent of men, 59 percent of women support an assault weapons ban. Same number for a ban on high capacity magazines."

"What about the president's argument that if it can stop even one of these horrific shootings, it's worth a try?" host George Stephanopolous asked Santorum.

"Well, how many people are you going to deny guns who are going to protect themselves?" the former Pennsylvania senator replied.

"Senator, what about the magazines?" ABC correspondent Cokie Roberts wondered. "Why have a magazine that can riddle a 6 year old into shreds?"

"Here's what I would say about that: 50 years ago, you could go on a catalog and buy a gun," Santorum opined. "There were no restrictions on gun ownership, there were no restrictions on magazines, there were no restrictions on anything and we had a lot less violence in society than we do today. The idea of pointing to the gun instead of pointing to society -- and not one thing the president did dealt with Hollywood and gun violence and video games and all the glorification of violence."

"Armor-piercing bullets, why do you need that?" Granholm interrupted.

"Why do you need to protect Hollywood?" Santorum shot back.

"You're deflecting," Granholm observed. "Deer don't wear armor. Why do you need an armor-piercing bullet?"

"But criminals could," Santorum quipped.

"And police officers certainly do," Granholm noted.

"Having the ability to defend yourself is something that is a right in our country," Santorum asserted.

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While discussing the White House commission on gun violence meeting this week, which the NRA has been invited to attend, along with Vice President Joe Biden's remarks that an executive order is on the table as part of a solution to curb the gun violence in the United States, Howard Fineman did his best to pin down MSNBC's The Cycle co-host S.E. Cupp and get an answer as to why any civilian out there needs an assault weapon or a high capacity magazine. To on one's surprise, she couldn't give him an answer.

Rather than answering his question, she started playing games with semantics on what the definition of an assault rifle, or high capacity, or rapid fire was and claimed that there were reasons someone would want them outside of the military or specialized police forces. When Fineman asked her to give one example, she punted and said she didn't want to take up the time allotted to the other hosts.

I still don't know why MSNBC hired Cupp. She's as thick as a brick and takes great pride in just being as annoying as humanly possible rather than bringing a bit of intellectual honesty to single debate. This is just the latest example of what she does on a daily basis to make sure this stinker of a show stays exactly that.

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It's so brave of her to come out and say this now that she's leaving the Senate, isn't it? Texas Senator Embraces Federal Gun Control, Limits On Large Magazines:

Texas Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, a strong ally of the National Rifle Association and its legislative priorities, told CBS’s Face The Nation on Sunday that she could support tighter regulations of high-capacity magazines in the aftermath of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. [...]

The NRA has taken any discussion of gun control off the table, arguing that government should instead station armed security guards in schools, limit cultural violence, repair the mental health system, and get tough on crime. Though group endorsed Gov. Rick Perry (R-TX) in his gubernatorial primary against Hutchision in 2010, the Texas chapter of the organization gave her an A+ rating, noting that it is the policy of the group to endorse incumbents.

Of course Bob Schieffer didn't ask her why it took her until now to soften some of her views on any new regulations. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't be hearing this out of her if she was planning on running for office again.

SCHIEFFER: I think we reestablished communications with Texas. Senator Hutchison, you were talking about you do suggest, at least schools being able to put police in schools if they think it's needed, but how about some of these other things? What about this idea of a ban on assault weapons? What about, as Senator Warner is talking about, restricting the sales of these magazines that have 30 rounds in a clip? How do you feel about that?

HUTCHISON: You know, I think we ought to be looking at where the real danger is, like those large clips, I think that does need to be looked at. We do have a ban on assault weapons, as was stated earlier. But it's the semiautomatics, and those large magazines that can be fired off very quickly. You do have to pull the trigger each time, but it's -- it's very quick. I think we should be looking at those mega- opportunities as one of the things that might be looked at. And we need to talk to real hunters who say what is a sporting rifle capability that continues the sport? We need to talk to people in all areas. But, Bob, what hasn't been mentioned, you know, in this conversation, is also the violence in our society. What children and kids are seeing even on P.G. movies and these video games like Black Ops 2 and those kinds of things. I mean, really, we have a more violent society in general, and I think a lot of it has to be looked at in that framework.

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This interview with Wayne LaPierre on this Sunday's Meet the Press ended up going pretty well the way I expected it would, which is with David Gregory hitting LaPierre with some difficult questions, but doing what he usually does and going easy on him with any follow up. Why NBC felt the need to give this guy a national platform to repeat the same talking points he made during his bizarre press conference the other day is beyond me.

After allowing LaPierre to blame our problems with gun violence in the United States on everything from a lack of armed guards in our schools, to our mental health system and on anything and everything other than guns, LaPierre said this about the gun show loophole.

LAPIERRE: Now, I know where you're going with this. They come up with this whole... the gun show loophole. There's not a gun show loophole. It's illegal for felons to do anything like that, to buy guns. What the anti-Second Amendment wants to do is put every gun sale in the country under the thumb of the federal government. Congress debated this at length. They said if you're a hobbyist or collector, if someone in West Virginia, a hunter wants to sell a gun to another hunter, they ought to be able to do it without being under the thumb of the federal government.

So he basically defended the loophole while claiming it doesn't exist. And David Gregory continued by trying to reason with someone who is not a rational or reasonable person.

GREGORY: What I hear you saying is, well, you can't do anything about high capacity ammunition magazines, because it simply won't work, yet you're proposing things that you don't know will completely work, but you're into the art of the possible, because your standard is, anything that has a chance of working we ought to try, except when it has to do with guns or ammunition. Don't you see that people see that as a complete dodge?

I don't know why David Gregory ever thought he was going to get an honest answer to that question. The man is paid to represent the gun manufacturers and their interests. That's it.

About all I can say after watching the entire interview with LaPierre is that it's too bad Lawrence O'Donnell wasn't allowed to sneak into the studio and ask him questions.

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The man who confessed to killing 68 people in Norway last week says he bought the ammunition clips used in his shooting spree from the U.S by mail order.

Anders Behring Breivik wrote in his 1,500-page manifesto that he spent $500 for 10 30-round clips.

Clips with more than three rounds are banned from sale in Norway.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY), who introduced legislation to limit high-capacity ammunition clips following the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), told Politico that U.S. lawmakers should be ashamed.

"We're sending a death warrant to other parts of the world," she said. "Unfortunately now, internationally, it's known that you can get here, buy your guns, buy your large magazines, and you're not going to have any problem"