NRA speakers unshaken on gun rights
Trump condemns evil of Texas shooting but says restrictions not answer
HOUSTON – One by one, they took to the stage at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Houston on Friday and denounced the massacre of 19 students and two teachers at an elementary school across the state. And one by one, they insisted that further restricting access to firearms was not the answer to preventing future tragedies.
“The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens,” said former President Donald Trump, who was among the Republicans who lined up to speak before the gun rights lobbying group Friday as thousands of protesters angry about gun violence demonstrated outside.
“The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens,” he said Friday.
The gathering came just three days after the shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and as the nation grappled with revelations that students trapped inside a classroom with the gunman repeatedly called 911 during the attack – one pleading “Please send the police now” – as officers waited in a hallway for more than 45 minutes.
The NRA had said convention attendees would “reflect on” the shooting at the event and “pray for the victims, recognize our patriotic members and pledge to redouble our commitment to making our schools secure.”
The meeting was the first for the organization since 2019, following a twoyear hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization has been trying to regroup following a period of serious legal and financial turmoil that included a failed bankruptcy effort, a class-action lawsuit and a fraud investigation by New York’s attorney general. Once among the most powerful political organizations in the country, the NRA has seen its influence wane following a significant drop in political spending.
Wayne LaPierre, the group’s chief executive, opened the program with remarks bemoaning the “21 beautiful lives ruthlessly and indiscriminately extinguished by a criminal monster.”
Still, he said “restricting the fundamental human rights of law-abiding Americans to defend themselves is not the answer. It never has been.”
Later, several hundred people in the auditorium stood and bowed in a moment of silence for the victims of the shooting. Several thousand people were inside the auditorium during the speeches.
Trump accused Democrats of trying to exploit the tragedy and demonizing gun owners.
“When Joe Biden blamed the gun lobby, he was talking about Americans like you,” Trump said, referring to the president’s emotional plea in a national address asking, “When in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?”
Trump called for overhauling school security and the nation’s approach to mental health, telling the group every school building should have a single point of entry, strong exterior fencing, metal detectors and hardened classroom doors and every school should have a police officer or armed guard on duty at all times. He also called again for trained teachers to be able to carry concealed weapons in the classroom.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who, like Trump, is considered a potential GOP presidential candidate in 2024, railed against Democrats’ calls for universal background checks for gun purchases and bans of assault-style weapons and instead pointed to broken families, declining church attendance, social media bullying and video games as the real problems.
“Tragedies like the event of this week are a mirror forcing us to ask hard questions, demanding that we see where our culture is failing,” he said. “We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the Constitution or infringing on the rights of our law-abiding citizens.”
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, another potential presidential contender, said calls to further restrict gun access are “all about control and it is garbage. I’m not buying it for a second and you shouldn’t, either.”
Some scheduled speakers and performers backed out of the event, including several Texas lawmakers and “American Pie” singer Don McLean, who said “it would be disrespectful” to go ahead with his act after the country’s latest mass shooting. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Friday morning he had decided not to speak at an event breakfast after “prayerful consideration and discussion with NRA officials.”
“While a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and an NRA member, I would not want my appearance today to bring any additional pain or grief to the families and all those suffering in Uvalde,” he wrote in a statement.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who was to attend, addressed the convention by prerecorded video instead.
Outside the convention hall, protesters gathered in a park where police set up metal barriers – some holding crosses with photos of the Uvalde shooting victims.
“Murderers!” some yelled in Spanish. “Shame on you!” others shouted at attendees.
Among the protesters was singer Little Joe, of the popular Tejano band Little Joe y La Familia, who said in the more than 60 years he has spent touring the world, no other country has faced as many mass shootings as the U.S.
“Of course, this is the best country in the world,” he said. “But what good does it do us if we can’t protect lives, especially of our children?”