The NRA's Houston convention went on as planned Friday, despite protests due to the deadly mass shooting on Tuesday across the state in Uvalde. And although some big names pulled out of the gun rights advocacy group's annual meeting in the 11th hour, former President Donald Trump wasn't one of them—a point he made sure to stress in his opening remarks. "I'm honored to be here in the great state of Texas with the wonderful patriots of the NRA," Trump said. "And unlike some, I did not disappoint you by not showing up." He then added: "You gotta show up." Mediaite notes that although he didn't name names, he was likely referring to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who sent prerecorded comments to be broadcast instead.
Per CBS News, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, Sen. John Cornyn, and Rep. Dan Crenshaw similarly dropped out at the last minute. Guns were banned by Secret Service at the George R. Brown Convention Center during the speech by Trump, who then went on to reiterate a common conservative talking point mentioned earlier by Sen. Ted Cruz—that what stops bad guys with guns are good guys with guns. "In the absence of a member of law enforcement, there is no one you would rather have nearby when a crisis strikes than an armed expertly trained member of the NRA," Trump told the crowd, reports the Texas Tribune.
What Trump said we should be concentrating on instead to address the problem of gun violence: mental health and further efforts to "harden" our schools via security measures such as armed officers and teachers, metal detectors, better fencing, and just a single entrance to school buildings—an approach that school and safety experts say would be both a fire hazard and cause a logistical nightmare in larger schools. The New York Times pores over other remarks made by both Trump and Cruz, fact-checking some of the more "inaccurate or misleading" claims on school shootings and firearm restrictions, among others. (More Donald Trump stories.)
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