( CNN ) -- The National Rifle Association chief issued a blistering retort to President Barack Obama 's inaugural address , accusing him of name calling and limiting American freedoms . Wayne LaPierre had been relatively silent since his controversial response to the shooting massacre in Newtown , Connecticut . After the December 14 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School , LaPierre held one public news conference where he doubled down on the NRA position : more guns , not fewer , provide true security . In a speech late Tuesday night , he hit upon that same theme as he repeatedly criticized Obama and his inaugural speech Monday . `` President Barack Obama quoted the Declaration of Independence and he talked about 'unalienable rights . ' I would argue that his words make a mockery of both , '' LaPierre said at the annual black-tie Weatherby International Hunting and Conservation Awards in Reno , Nevada . Several times , LaPierre homed in on one part of Obama 's address , where the president said , `` We can not mistake absolutism for principle , or substitute spectacle for politics , or treat name-calling as reasoned debate . '' Opinion : Guns were last straw for me with GOP . LaPierre said the president was attacking fervent supporters of the Second Amendment . Many of them believe it provides an absolute right to provide arms . `` When absolutes are abandoned for principles , the U.S. Constitution becomes a blank slate for anyone 's graffiti , '' LaPierre said . `` Words do have meaning , Mr. President . And those meanings are absolute , especially when it comes to our Bill of Rights . '' The re-emergence of the NRA 's potent mouthpiece comes on the same day of another school shooting that captured national headlines -- the wounding of three people on a Texas college campus . His speech also comes as Obama and some lawmakers focus on passing gun control measures . Polls show more people are warming up to the possibility . Last week , Obama proposed background checks on all gun sales , and bans on military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines . With relatives of some of the 20 children killed in the Connecticut rampage looking on , Obama also signed 23 executive actions -- which do n't require congressional approval -- to strengthen existing gun laws . They also take related steps on mental health and school safety . In his speech Tuesday , LaPierre set his sights on Obama 's proposal to expand background checks to anyone buying a gun , whether at a store or in a private sale at an auction or convention . `` There are only two reasons for that federal list of gun owners : to tax them or take them , '' he told the cheering crowd . The tit-for-tat continues a running battle between the president and the powerful gun lobby . Last week , the NRA released an advertisement that called the president an `` elitist hypocrite , '' and asked why he opposes the idea of placing armed guards in every school -- a proposal pushed by the NRA -- despite the fact that his own children attend a school with similar security . The ad was only slated to air on the Sportsman Channel , but has gained strong media attention , both on the airwaves and online . It has also garnered criticism . Republican Gov . Chris Christie of New Jersey criticized it for making a reference to the president 's children in a political attack commercial . Speaking at a news conference last week , the outspoken governor decried the move as `` reprehensible '' and argued that the group lost some credibility by making the ad . `` And I think for any of us who are public figures , you see that kind of ad and you cringe . You cringe because it 's just not appropriate in my view to do that , '' he said . `` They 've got real issues to debate on this topic . Get to the real issues . Do n't be dragging people 's children into this . It 's wrong . '' In his Tuesday speech , LaPierre said Obama was among the `` self-appointed arbiters of what freedom really means . '' `` He does n't understand you . He does n't agree with the freedoms you cherish . If the only way he can force you to give 'em up is through scorn and ridicule , he 's more than willing to do it , even as he claims the moral high ground . '' Listen : Red states and guns .
His response is the latest criticism against the president by the group . `` He does n't agree with the freedoms you cherish , '' the NRA chief says . Obama recently proposed background checks on all gun sales , among other measures . The gun lobby group called the president an `` elitist hypocrite '' last week .