The powerful gun rights lobby group kicked off its annual convention this Friday, May 27, in Houston, Texas. Just 450 kilometers from the scene of the country’s worst school shooting in years, two days ago, which left 19 children and two teachers dead. The event was rejected by a group of protesters who demand the adoption of more severe measures against the carrying of weapons in the United States.
Houston was the scene of two contrasting images. Outside the National Rifle Association’s annual convention, a group of protesters remembered the dozens of victims of Tuesday’s shooting at a Texas school. While inside, attendees viewed rifles and attended lectures.
Banners carrying messages such as “Ban assault rifles now” and “Too bad, today could be your children” were seen at the protests.
One of the protesters was 15-year-old Harper Young, who told Reuters: “It is completely unacceptable that gun violence is happening over and over again. It is awful”.
His message echoes that of the president of the National Education Association, Becky Pringle, who showed her rejection of the proposal that teachers be armed to contain possible future shootings. “More guns equal more violence,” she said. And she assured, on the outskirts of the convention, that “assault weapons should be prohibited.”
The claims come a few days after an 18-year-old boy entered the ‘Robb’ primary institution in Uvalde, a community in the center of the state of Texas, and murdered 19 minors and two teachers.
Therefore, activists, teachers and family members demanded the cancellation of the event. However, despite attendance being down and many top music acts being cancelled, the Association decided to hold the meeting, the first after two previous cancellations due to Covid-19.
Trump attended the event and attacked the regularization of the carrying of weapons
Amid applause, former President Donald Trump addressed the event attendees. “Gun control policies pushed by the left would have done nothing to prevent the horror that took place. Absolutely nothing,” he told the audience.
The Republican also ruled that the massacre responded to the mental health of the attacker and that “the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.”
At the same time, he defended the convention, saying that “every time a disturbed or insane person commits such a horrible crime, there is always a grotesque effort by some to use the suffering to further their extremist political agenda.”
The former president’s statements went hand in hand with those of other attendees such as those of Republican Senator Ted Cruz, who assured that eliminating weapons will not make communities “safer.”
The absent: some well-known Republicans
Two of those absent were the Republican governor of the state of Texas, Greg Abbott, and the lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, who assured that he did not attend so as not to “bring any additional pain or sorrow to the families and all the suffering in Uvalde.”
The governor, for his part, appeared in a prerecorded video in which he stated that “as Texans and as Americans we grieve and cry with these families.”
At the same time, he rejected new legislation on the carrying of weapons, assuring that “the laws will not prevent wicked madmen from committing these atrocities”.
The discussion around the Second Amendment of the Constitution
Every time a mass shooting is recorded in the United States, a repeated request opens the way: legislate gun control. But the Democrats and officials in favor of the measure are tripping over the same rock: the strong resistance of the National Rifle Association and the Republicans who support it.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution protects “the right to keep and bear arms.” And under this legislation, the United States is one of the countries with the fewest limitations to acquire these artifacts.
“Throwing rocks at the NRA doesn’t solve the next mass shooting,” said Rocky Marshall, a former NRA board member.
Like Marshall think hundreds more Americans. Gary Francism, who traveled with his wife and friends from Racine, Wisconsin, to attend the NRA meeting, also opposes any regulation.
“What happened there is obviously tragic (…) But the NRA had nothing to do with it. The people who come here have nothing to do with it,” he said.
Citizens have a nuanced view on this matter. Historically, the Amendment has had broad support and at the same time there is strong support for regulation. A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on Wednesday May 25 found that 66% of respondents, including 53% of Republicans, support moderate or strict measures on gun ownership.
“While I agree with most of the NRA’s positions, I’ve come to believe that while background checks wouldn’t stop every maniac with a gun, it’s at least a step in the right direction,” he said. popular country singer Larry Gatlin, gun rights advocate and one of the figures who withdrew his participation from the convention after the tragedy that occurred in South Texas.
While President Joe Biden and Democrats in Congress renewed their calls for tougher laws on the matter, NRA board members like Phil Journey counter that the focus should be on better mental health care. and try to prevent armed violence, not prohibit or limit access to these fire devices.
Texas has experienced a series of mass shootings in recent years. During that time, the Republican-led Legislature and the governor have relaxed gun laws. Faced with strong rejection, several groups prepare to protest in front of the convention center where the National Rifle Association meets.
In a country where the right to carry firearms is enshrined in the Magna Carta and fireworks sales by the millions are rising, the NRA is likely to ignore new calls for more control measures. The Republican Party, which has thwarted efforts by the Democratic Party in Congress to issue tougher gun rules, remains closely aligned with the National Rifle Association.
Meanwhile, a new mass shooting could occur at any moment, leaving relatives of victims to send “prayers and thoughts”, but with no clear measures in sight.
With AP and Reuters
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