HUSTON –
The U.S. National Weapons Association began its annual convention in Houston amid protests Friday, three days after a gunman killed 19 students and two elementary school teachers across the state, reviving a national debate on gun violence.
Former President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders had to speak at the event. Leaders of the arms rights lobby group planned to “reflect” – and deflect any guilt – the shooting at a school in Uwalde. Hundreds of protesters, outraged by gun violence, demonstrated outside, including some holding crosses with photos of victims of the Uwalde shooting.
Some planned speakers and performers dropped out of the event, including several Texas lawmakers and American Pie singer Don McLean, who said it would be “disrespectful” to continue after the latest mass shooting in the country. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday morning that he had decided not to speak at breakfast after “prayerful reflection and discussion with NRA officials.”
“Although I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and a member of the NRA, I would not like my appearance today to bring additional pain or grief to families and all those suffering in Uwalde,” he said in a statement. “It’s time to focus on families first.
The NRA said in an online statement that people attending the gun show would “think about” the shooting at the Uwalde school, “pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members and promise to redouble our commitment to make our schools safe.” .
The meeting is the first for the troubled organization since 2019, after a two-year break due to the pandemic. The organization is trying to regroup after a period of serious legal and financial turmoil, which includes unsuccessful bankruptcy, group lawsuits and fraud investigations by the New York Attorney General. Once one of the most powerful political organizations in the country, the NRA is weakening its influence after a significant drop in political spending.
As President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress renewed calls for tougher gun laws after the Uwalde shooting, NRA board members and others attending the conference rejected talks to ban or restrict access to firearms.
Larry Miller, 56, of Huntington Beach, California, said there was no problem with the NRA meeting, which took place so soon after the Uwalde shooting. He called the shooting “very sad and unhappy” and said the shooter “had no respect for the freedoms of the people we have here in this country”.
“We all share these rights, so respecting other people’s rights means respecting other people’s lives, and I think that’s the way we should be here,” he said.
Samuel Thornberg, a 43-year-old Southwest Airlines support officer who attended the NRA meeting, said he wanted to hear from speakers that “there will be more weapons” but also more safety for schools.
“Weapons are not evil. The people who commit the crime are evil. Our schools need to be locked up. There needs to be more security,” he said.
Thousands of people walked inside the convention hall on Friday, stopping in front of booths with guns, rifles, AR-style firearms, knives, clothing and gun racks. Outside, police set up metal barriers in a large park, where several hundred protesters and counter-protesters gathered in front of the downtown convention center.
At a press conference in the protest area before the main speech, the singer Little Joe, who is with the popular Tejano band Little Joe y La Familia, said that in more than 60 years he has toured the world, he has not been in any other country. is facing as many mass shootings as the United States
“Across the street we have these people with blood on their hands,” he said, crying as he spoke. “Of course, this is the best country in the world. But what’s the use of that if we can’t protect the lives, especially of our children?”
Texas has experienced a series of mass shootings in recent years. During this time, the Republican-led legislature and governor relaxed gun laws.
There is a precedent for the NRA to gather amid local mourning and controversy. The organization continued with a shortened version of its 1999 meeting in Denver about a week after the deadly shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Actor Charlton Heston, the NRA’s president at the time, told those present that “terrible actions” should not become an opportunity to restrict constitutional rights and condemned critics for describing NRA members as “villains”.
Country singer Larry Gatlin, who has resigned from this year’s convention, said he hoped the NRA would “rethink some of its outdated and ill-considered positions”.
“Although I agree with most of the positions held by the NRA, I began to believe that although past checks will not stop everyone crazy with a gun, this is at least a step in the right direction,” Gatlin said.
Country singers Lee Greenwood and Larry Stewart also retired, Variety reported.
White House spokeswoman Karin Jean-Pierre said on Thursday that NRA leaders “are contributing to the problem of gun violence, not trying to solve it.” She accused them of representing the interests of arms manufacturers “who sell weapons of war to young adults”.
Most adults in the United States believe that mass shootings would be less common if guns were more difficult to obtain and that schools and other public places have become less safe than they were two decades ago, according to research.
Many specific measures that would restrict access to weapons or ammunition are also supported by the majority. An AP-NORC survey in May found, for example, that 51% of adults in the United States support a national ban on the sale of AR-15 rifles and similar semi-automatic weapons. But the numbers are strongly party-like, with 75 percent of Democrats agreeing with just 27 percent of Republicans.
In addition to Patrick, two Texas congressmen scheduled to speak Friday – U.S. Sen. John Cornin and U.S. Representative Dan Crenshaw – were no longer present because of what their officials said were changes to their schedules. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was to attend, had to address Congress through a pre-recorded video.
But others continued to speak, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, South Dakota Gov. Christie Noem and Trump, who said Wednesday he would deliver an “important address to America.”
In an interview Thursday on the Salem radio network, Trump reiterated his support for the right to bear arms.
“Honestly, now is an interesting time to give such a speech,” he said. “You must defend your Second Amendment. You have to give this Second Amendment great protection, because without it we would be a very dangerous country, to be honest. More dangerous. “
Although personal firearms were allowed in Congress, the NRA said the weapons would not be allowed during the Trump session because of Secret Service security protocols.
Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Abbott in the run for governor of Texas in 2022, said he would attend the protest outside.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said the city is bound to host the NRA event, which has been under contract for more than two years. But he urged politicians to miss it.
“You can’t pray and send condolences one day and then go and defend your weapons the next day. That’s wrong,” Turner said.
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed from Jefferson City, Missouri.
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