Megyn Kelly castigates 'powerful' NRA, 'weak' lawmakers over shooting: 'Redirect' border wall funds

Host Megyn Kelly used her platform on NBC's "Megyn Kelly Today" Thursday to castigate the National Rifle Association, the public, the American Civil Liberties Union, and politicians over Wednesday's deadly school shooting, which claimed the lives of at least 17 people and injured many more in Florida.

What did she say?

Kelly took aim at gun control, mental health, and more during her impassioned monologue, which last about five minutes.

"There have been at least 12 — at least 12 — school shootings in America so far in 2018," Kelly began. "It’s Feb. 15. We’re averaging one just about every three or four days. How we doing, America? Everyone OK with that?"

Kelly added that the U.S. must be all right with that number, because "we haven't done virtually anything to stop it."

Kelly noted that she doesn't believe any conversations after this latest shooting will be fruitful, primarily because she doesn't "believe in a single one of these politicians."

"I don’t believe any of them have the courage it takes to push through reform," she said. "Why? Because history."

"It’s not all on them, because we the people, who hire and fire these politicians — so if we don’t get serious, neither will they," Kelly added.

Kelly said that 2012's Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting surely should have been "the one" to effect changes to prevent this kind of tragedy from ever happening again.

"That was the one where we all thought, 'Now we will do something. Now we have to change,'" she explained. "But we didn’t. In fact, since Newtown, there have been nearly 300 school shootings in America, about one a week. If 20 dead first-graders don’t spur people to action, what will?"

She said that while former President Barack Obama signed an act targeting mental health reform, intended to push for early intervention for juveniles exhibiting symptoms of mental illness, "it hasn't been funded by Congress.'

"It’s a beautiful piece of paper," she mocked. "I’m sure it’s a great comfort to the folks in Florida today."

Kelly went on to tell the story of a former guest on her show who reported that her son exhibited many symptoms of dangerous mental illness, including the killing of animals and "dark and disturbing pornography" and said that no one would help her.

Kelly conceded, however, that "most mentally ill people do not commit murder."

"So even if we fund the mental health reforms, how do we find the potentially deadly needles in these haystacks who are likely to blow?" she asked.

Kelly suggested that paying attention to things like concerning social media behaviors and other warning signs would be a good start.

"Then what?" she rhetorically asked. "Are we really going to loosen the standards for involuntary commitment in this country? Even if we could pay for that, good luck convincing the ACLU that it’s legal."

What did she say about guns?

Kelly then tackled the topic of guns.

"No gun reforms are getting through," she said. "They’re not. And most of the ones that will be proposed in the wake of this shooting will be utterly meaningless and wouldn’t have even arguably prevented this killing."

"The NRA is too powerful," Kelly added. "Our politicians are too weak, and the guns are too ubiquitous."

Kelly said there are over 300 million guns in the U.S. alone, and added that the type of gun  isn't even the problem with mass shootings like these.

"There was no AR-15 at Virginia Tech and that remains the worst school shooting in U.S. history," she explained. "Thirty-two dead and nothing changed."

"In the meantime," Kelly said, "I and other parents have to send our kids to play and play Russian roulette with their lives. My children, like yours, have to practice hiding in the bathroom to avoid an active shooter and don’t even think about letting the teacher lead a prayer to get them through that moment because the guns are perfectly legal, but the prayers are not."

"I wish I had the solution," Kelly concluded. "One part of it is courage to get honest, to give a damn. To maybe take that $25 billion for the border wall and redirect it towards this problem. How about showing any resolve at all. Any resolve at all to actually solve this problem. Wouldn’t that be a start?"