Put "armed police officers" in every school, NRA leader Wayne LaPierre says LaPierre called on Congress to act immediately "to appropriate whatever is necessary to put armed police officers in every school in this nation." The NRA's posture is likely to set off a national debate over two starkly different views on curbing gun violence. On one side stand those like LaPierre, who believe that arming more citizens is the answer; on the other, gun-control advocates pressing for tighter restrictions on firearms. LaPierre was interrupted twice during his remarks by anti-gun protesters; one held up a sign that read: "NRA Killing Our Kids." After pausing briefly, he continued to speak after the protestors were removed. "Politicians pass laws for gun-free school zones, they issue press releases bragging about them . . . in doing so they tell every insane killer in America that schools are the safest place to inflict maximum mayhem with minimum risk," LaPierre said. The remarks came after a week of near-silence from the NRA in the wake of the mass shooting last Friday in Newtown, Conn., where a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The group's social media accounts went dark, and it issued just one public statement, saying its members were "shocked, saddened and heartbroken by the news of the horrific and senseless murders." LaPierre said Friday that if the Newtown school had had armed officers on site, lives may have been saved. "Will you at least admit it's possible that 26 little kids - that 26 innocent lives might have been spared that day?" he asked. The call to arm more Americans prompted swift criticism from some gun-control advocates. "It is beyond belief that following the Newtown tragedy, the National Rifle Association's leaders want to fill our communities with guns and arm more Americans," said Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) LaPierre also announced that the NRA will develop a "model national schools shield emergency response program" that will be led by former Arkansas congressman Asa Hutchinson, who served as head of the Drug Enforcement Administration under President George W. Bush. "From armed security to building design and access control, to information technology, to student and teacher training, this multifaceted program will be developed by the very best experts in the field," LaPierre said of the effort. The NRA's input came at the end of a week in which gun-control advocates stepped up their push for tighter regulations on firearms, and President Obama begun a new effort to reduce gun violence. Obama launched an interagency task force led by Vice President Biden, and has called for Congress to take action to ban assault weapons and high-capacity ammunition clips. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said Sunday that she will soon introduce a measure that would place a federal ban on assault weapons. Elsewhere on Capitol Hill, a handful of Democratic senators who have received high marks from the NRA signaled an openness this week to new regulations on guns, marking a change in their positions, in the wake of the Newtown shooting. On Friday morning, Obama released a Web video urging the public to assist in the push for new regulations. "I'm asking for your help . . . to make sure the United States of America is a safer, stronger place for our children to learn and to grow," Obama said. Petitions on the White House Web site aimed at pressing the administration to take action on gun control have attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures. LaPierre was critical of those he said "have tried to exploit the tragedy for political gain." The NRA, he said, "remained respectably silent" in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. He also offered a broader cultural criticism, decrying violent video games and films. There exists in this country, sadly, a callous, corrupt and corrupting shadow industry that sells and sows violence against its own people. Through vicious, violent video games with names like "Bullet Storm," "Grand Theft Auto," "Mortal Combat" and "Splatterhouse," " LaPierre said. For the first time since 2007, significantly more people strongly favor than strongly oppose stricter gun laws, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released this week. Overall, though, the poll showed that the percentages of Americans supporting stricter gun laws is on par with previous surveys. The head of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, a group advocating for gun control, called Friday on NRA members to join the effort to reduce gun violence. To all NRA members who believe like we do, that we are better than this, we send this message . . . Join us. Join us in making sure the gun violence ends now. We are all Americans and we all agree we are better than this," said Brady Campaign President Daniel Gross.