Houston (AP) – Former President Donald Trump is defending gun rights in a speech to the Houston National Weapons Association’s annual convention, three days after a gunman killed 19 students and two primary school teachers across the state.
With protesters shouting outside, Trump had to call on Friday for a “drastic” change in the nation’s approach to mental health “and a” major overhaul of school security across the country “, while rejecting calls for the disarmament of gun owners. according to excerpts from his speech.
“The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens – the existence of evil is one of the best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens,” he said in a prepared note.
Trump was among Republican leaders who lined up to speak at the event, where the gun rights lobby group said those present planned to “think about” – and dismiss any guilt – the shooting at the Uwalde school. Hundreds of protesters, outraged by gun violence, demonstrated outside, including some holding crosses with photos of the victims of the shooting.
Wayne LaPierre, the group’s chief executive, began the event by saying that “every member of the NRA and I know that every worthy American is grieving right now.” Twenty-one beautiful lives ruthlessly and indiscriminately destroyed by a criminal monster. “
However, he said that restricting the basic human rights of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves was not the answer. It’s never been.”
Several hundred people in the hall stood and bowed their heads in silence for the victims of the shooting at the Uwalde school. There were a lot of empty spaces.
Among the protesters outside, Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to run for governor, has scrapped a list of previous school shootings and called on congressmen to “join us to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” is happening in this country. “
“The time to stop Uwalde was right after Sandy Hook,” O’Rourke said. “The time to stop Uwalde was right after Parkland. The time to stop Uwalde was right after high school in Santa Fe. The time to stop the next mass shooting in this country is right now, right here, today with each of us. ”
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 “prayer reflections and discussions with NRA officials.”
The NRA said 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 gunman “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, 43, a Southwest Airlines maintenance officer in Houston who attended the NRA meeting, said: “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. “
Inside the convention hall, thousands of people walked, 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 hundreds of protesters and counter-protesters gathered in front of the downtown convention center.
“Killers!” some shouted in Spanish. “Shame on you!” others shouted at those present.
Among the protesters was the singer Little Joe from the popular band Tejano Little Joe y La Familia, who said that in the more than 60 years he has toured the world, no other country he has been to has faced such mass shooting like the US
“Of course, this is the best country in the world,” he said. “But what’s the use for us 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 during 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, president of the NRA at the time, told those present that “terrible actions” should not become an opportunity to restrict constitutional rights, and he 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.
Most adults in the United States believe that mass shootings would be less common if guns were more difficult to obtain, and believe that schools and other public places have become less safe than they did two decades ago, the study said.
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. Instead, Abbott, who was to attend, had to address Congress through a pre-recorded video.
But others continued their speeches, including Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, South Dakota Gov. Christie Noem and Trump.
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.
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Colvin reported from New York. Associated Press writer David A. Lieb contributed from Jefferson City, Missouri.
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