"The Den of Don" (R-NRA)

Congressman Don Young has taken the opportunity to fearlessly lead on an issue predictably chambered another load of empty rhetoric and endorsed the delusional rant from the National Rifle Association’s WTF reaction to the Newtown shootings.
Of course, seeing as how Young actually sits on the board of the NRA, it isn’t all that surprising, just the degree of such tactless pandering is a new low. This even coming from a sitting congressman who has previously made his allegiances clear by tacitly conspiring with the infamous Schaeffer Cox and the 2nd Amendment Task Force militia (see video here):

But up here on the proverbial Frontier ("we're #1!"), together in alliance with ALEC, the NRA pervades the pocketbooks and mentality of state legislators, both killing and making big bucks:

“The Most Outstanding Friends of NRA Committee Award is presented annually to the committee that raises the most funds at a single Friends of NRA event. In 2011, the Alaska State Friends of NRA committee raised more than $170,000 in net income. Since its inception in 1995, the committee has raised $812,433 for The NRA Foundation and hosted over 5,000 attendees.”

While the amoral NRA is supposedly “non-partisan” in its interests, the definition of the term is stretched to its utmost when considering a mere token 17 out of 290 politicians it funded in the last election were Democrats. Presumably these “Democrats” are of the same caliber of Alaska’s own Senator Begich, who, as a life-long member of the NRA, most definitely wants to keep his “A” rating as a political ploy for re-election in the rootin’-tootin’ Last Frontier. 

Along with bear-hugging the batshit, Begich and others of his caliber are eagerly shunting focus away from guns by mouthing an insidious emerging narrative: that this is all instead somehow the fault of “mental illness.” Not only does this stigmatize the mentally ill, it attempts to shift blame and attention to any number of other causative factors or societal influences. But gee, wouldn't you just know it, that just doesn’t matter in Alaska anyways, where besides being in remission of FBI background checks to begin with, a 1998 state law was amended to accommodate the armed and mentally ill:

“ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Judge Natalie Finn took away Timothy Wagner’s gun permit after he claimed someone had implanted a computer chip in his head and injected him with deadly chemicals. A state appeals court, though, ruled that Finn erred, saying Alaska’s concealed-carry law does not allow general concerns about mental illness to play a role in deciding whether someone should have a gun.”

Worth noting here the defendant was represented by none other than former Alaskan Attorney General nominee (courtesy of the Quitter) - and past Vice President of the NRA – Wayne Anthony Ross. 

Also on the home front, current Alaska Lt. Governor Mead Treadwell has a connection with the Connecticut tragedy, having attended Sandy Hook Elementary - one might hope this could possibly translate into genuine leadership on the issue. He has, after all, been quoted saying “Instead of tolerating this violence, we must work to build a culture of life in our state and in our nation.” Oh wait - nevermind, wrong controversy.

Maybe, as has been suggested, what we need is a teacher in every gun store instead. 
See, it's about guns.