Thousands of gun owners, throngs of protesters and some prominent Republican politicians are expected in Houston for the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting Friday, just three days after 19 children and two adults were shot to death at an elementary school in South Texas.
The event, which is being held in the George R. Brown Convention Center and will last through Sunday, “will showcase over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear,” the NRA said on its website, describing it as “a freedom-filled weekend for the entire family.”
About 70,000 people are expected over the three days. Admission is free for NRA members and their immediate family members, including children under 18, the group’s site says.
Some Democratic politicians and gun safety advocates had urged the gun group to postpone or move the event, which is taking place about 270 miles from the site of Tuesday’s shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, given the timing.
Among those scheduled to speak Friday are former President Donald Trump, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who had been scheduled to address the convention, decided to skip the event and instead return to Uvalde. His office said he will make recorded video remarks for the NRA event.
“Governor Abbott, if you have any decency, you will immediately withdraw from this weekend’s NRA convention and urge them to hold it anywhere but Texas,” Beto O’Rourke, a Democratic candidate for governor, tweeted Wednesday.
Also set to speak Friday is Wayne LaPierre, the group’s powerful executive vice president, whom the New York attorney general is trying to oust, alleging he used the organization as his “personal piggy bank.” LaPierre contends the suit is political and should be thrown out.
A number of activist groups, including Black Lives Matter: Houston and the gun safety group Moms Demand Action, plan to protest outside the convention center Friday. “We don’t want, need, or accept that the NRA is planning to come here in Friday,” tweeted one of the organizations, FIEL Houston, an immigrants rights group.
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, noted at a City Council meeting this week that there had been calls for him to cancel the convention after the shooting, which he said was not feasible.
“It is a contractual arrangement, and we simply cannot cancel a conference or a convention because we may not agree with the subject matter,” Turner said. He said the “greater issue is why are elected officials going to the NRA to speak.”
“What message does that send?” he asked, adding, “You can’t be praying and sending condolences one day and then going and championing guns on the next.”
Cruz’s office has declined to comment on his plans for Friday’s event.
Trump said in a statement that he would keep his “longtime commitment” to speak because the country needs “real solutions and real leadership in this moment.”
Two Texas Republicans who had been scheduled to speak, Sen. John Cornyn and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, have said they are unable to attend because of scheduling conflicts unrelated to the shooting.
“American Pie” singer Don McLean, who had been scheduled to perform at the convention’s “Grand Ole Night of Freedom” concert Saturday, announced he had canceled. “I have decided it would be disrespectful and hurtful for me to perform for the NRA at their convention in Houston this week,” he said in a statement to the Portland Press Herald of Maine. “I’m sure all the folks planning to attend this event are shocked and sickened by these events as well. After all, we are all Americans. I share the sorrow for this terrible, cruel loss with the rest of the nation.”
Country singers Larry Gatlin and Larry Stewart announced Thursday that they were dropping out, as well.
“While I agree with most of the positions held by the NRA, I have come to believe that, while background checks would not stop every madman with a gun, it is at the very least a step in the right direction toward trying to prevent the kind of tragedy we saw this week in Uvalde — in my beloved, weeping TEXAS,” Gatlin said in a statement.
The NRA said in a statement this week that the shooting “was the act of a lone, deranged criminal.”
“As we gather in Houston, we will reflect on these events, pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members, and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure,” it said.
While the NRA has advocated for more “good guys with guns” as the best way to stop mass shooters, guns are banned in the convention center’s assembly hall Friday because of Trump’s presence. The NRA said that according to the Secret Service magnetometers will be on-site and that “firearms, firearm accessories, knives, and other items WILL NOT BE PERMITTED in the General Assembly Hall.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
