The National Rifle Association begins its annual convention in Houston on Friday, and leaders of the powerful gun-rights lobbying group are gearing up to “reflect on” — and deflect any blame for — the deadly shooting earlier this week in Uvalde, Texas.
Gary Francis traveled with his wife and friends from Racine, Wisconsin, to attend the NRA meeting. He said he opposed any gun control regulations in response to the Uvalde shooting. "What happened there is obviously tragic,” he said.
“But the NRA had nothing to do with it. The people who come here had nothing to do with it.” Texas has experienced a series of mass shootings in recent years. During that time, the Republican-led Legislature and governor have relaxed gun laws. There is precedent for the NRA to gather amid local mourning and controversy. The organization went ahead with a shortened version of its 1999 meeting in Denver roughly a week after the deadly shooting at Columbine High School in Colorado. Actor Charlton Heston, the NRA president at that time, told attendees that “horrible acts” shouldn’t become opportunities to limit constitutional rights and he denounced critics for casting NRA members as “villains.” In the wake of the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, politicians on both sides of the aisle have lobbed angry barbs about gun policies — including Beto O’Rourke’s angry confrontation of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a news conference. While some say that now isn’t the time for politics, NBCLX political editor Noah Pransky explains why politics is central to any discussion of gun violence. Rocky Marshall, a former NRA board member, said that although the tragedy in Uvalde “does put the meeting in a bad light,” that's not a reason to cancel it. Marshall said gun-rights advocates and opponents can perhaps reduce gun violence if they focus on factors such as mental illness or school security. “Throwing rocks at the NRA, that doesn’t solve the next mass shooting,” he said. “Throwing rocks at the people that hate guns, that doesn’t solve the next mass shooting.” But country music singer Larry Gatlin, who pulled out of planned appearance at the event, said he hopes “the NRA will rethink some of its outdated and ill-thought-out positions.” “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,” Gatlin said.White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that the NRA's leaders “are contributing to the problem of gun violence and not trying to solve it.” She accused them of representing the interests of gun manufacturers, “who are marketing weapons of war to young adults.” Two Republican Texas lawmakers who had been scheduled speak Friday — U.S. Sen. John Cornyn and U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw — are no longer attending due to what their staffs said were changes in their schedules.will instead address the convention by prerecorded videoTwo days after a mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ahead of the governor’s planned appearance at the National Rifle Association. “What a fraud… These families don’t want thoughts and prayers. They want their elected leaders to respond to their suffering.” Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, was listed as a speaker, and Trump said Wednesday that he still intends to attend. South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican, also is sticking to her plans to speak Friday at the NRA event. Though personal firearms are allowed at the convention, the NRA said guns would not be permitted during the session featuring Trump because of Secret Service security protocols.“This is not the time or the place to have this convention," said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based civil rights group that plans to participate in protests."We must not just have thoughts and prayers from legislators, but rather we need action to address this public health crisis that is affecting our communities.” Democrat Beto O'Rourke, who is challenging Abbott in the 2022 Texas governor's race, said he would be attending a protest outside the convention Friday. Former congressman and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke confronted Gov. Greg Abbott during a press conference Wednesday about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, calling the shooting “totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, a Democrat, said the city is obligated to host the NRA event, which has been under contract for more than two years. But he urged politicians to skip it. "You can’t pray and send condolences on one day and then be going and championing guns on the next. That’s wrong,” Turner said. Shannon Watts, the founder of gun-control group Moms Demand Action, said she was not surprised the NRA is not canceling its meeting. “The real question now is which elected officials will choose to side with violence and go kiss the ring in Houston this weekend instead of siding with communities crying out for public safety,” Watts said.David A. Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Missouri. New York has some of the toughest state gun laws in the country, but even that wasn’t enough to stop a gunman from killing 10 shoppers at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, this month. In the wake of another mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, NBCLX storyteller Ngozi Ekeledo took a look at New York’s gun laws and why gun control advocates say they still don’t go far enough.
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