Sharpton vows to mount gun protests

Sharpton vows to mount gun protests

The Rev. Al Sharpton vowed Saturday to take the fight to the National Rifle Association as the powerful gun lobby retreated into silence a day after its bizarre public defense.

Sharpton said he will organize a protest against the NRA and gun manufacturers that will kick off with a rally at the influential lobbying group’s Washington headquarters next month.

“We need to get a real movement against those who get rich off the perpetuation of killing,” said the civil rights leader.

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“The only purpose of assault weapons is for war,” Sharpton continued. “You don’t hunt with assault weapons. Nobody shoots down prey with so many bullets you couldn’t eat the prey.”

Sharpton mocked the claim by NRA head Wayne LaPierre that the best way to prevent classroom shootings like the massacre in Newtown, Conn., is to post an armed guard at every school in America.

“It was one of the most asinine statements I’ve heard in a long time,” Sharpton said at the Harlem headquarters of the National Action Network.

He urged Congress to pass meaningful gun control legislation, ripping its inaction after the mass shooting at Virginia Tech or the one in Tucson that gravely wounded then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) and killed six others.

“They shot one of their legislators in Tucson and they still didn’t put a new bill on the table,” he said.

The failure of Congress to enact strict firearms laws has long been attributed to the successful lobbying efforts of the deep-pocketed NRA, which funds scores of candidates on both sides of the aisle.

In the immediate aftermath of the Connecticut shooting, the 4 million-member organization pledged “meaningful contributions” to combat gun violence â€" but LaPierre did not give an inch.

He said the NRA would not accept any responsibility for the epidemic of mass shootings, instead blaming madmen who grew up on a steady diet of violent video games and movies.

LaPierre ridiculed politicians for creating gun-free zones around schools and said the nation’s children could only be protected by more firearms.

“The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he said during the surreal Washington event.

He didn’t take questions, but is scheduled to appear Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” The network said he’s expected to address ways to curb gun violence.

LaPierre’s angry, tone-deaf presentation â€" which was held just 90 minutes after a national moment of silence for the Newtown victims â€" enraged many gun control activists and disappointed several NRA allies.

jlemire@nydailynews.com