‘The conspiracy theory convention’: what happened at the NRA’s annual meeting?

Several attendees at the National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Texas have claimed that the mass school shooting in the state last week was deliberately orchestrated to overshadow the annual gathering of the gun lobby group.

“Why did it happen three days ago?” Jim Hollis, an NRA benefactor from St Louis, asked Politico. “I’m not sure that there are not forces someplace that somehow find troubled people and nurture and develop them and push them for their own agendas.”

Thousands of NRA members attended the convention in Houston, just 250 miles east of Uvalde, where 19 children and two teachers were gunned down 72 hours earlier.

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Trump speech met with approval

During a speech at the convention, Donald Trump read out the names of the 19 murdered children and the two dead teachers – a move described by his opponents as “a hollow and deeply cynical piece of political theatre”, said ITV News.

The former US president also argued that “the existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens” but “one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens”. His speech was met with raucous approval inside the convention.

Trump was criticised for dancing to the song Hold On, I’m Comin’ by Sam and Dave after his speech. “Trump danced at the NRA convention,” tweeted Adam Parkhomenko, a Democratic strategist. “Their little bodies aren’t even in the ground. And he’s f*****g dancing.”

Attendees attributed the Texas shooting to a “broader breakdown in society wrought by the removal of God from public schools, the decline of two-parent households, a perceived leniency toward criminals, social media and an increase in mental illness”, said The Texas Tribune.

Anti-gun protesters fill park

Meanwhile, anti-gun protesters filled a park across the street from the convention centre, chanting “Shame!” and holding placards declaring “Protect children, not guns”.

Groups such as Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America handed out water and voter registration forms, reported The Guardian. Another group paraded with wooden crosses for each of the Uvalde victims and wheeled a child-size coffin.

A small child stood in the middle of the crowd with a handmade sign declaring “protect us” as a woman on the stage said that her son had died after being shot in a road rage incident in 2019. “I had to bury my baby on his 19th birthday,” she said. “I’m the one serving a life sentence, not the monster who killed my son.”

New calls for gun control

The shooting at the Robb Elementary School on 24 May has sparked new calls for gun-control measures. The US has now surpassed 200 mass shootings since the beginning of 2022.

The Times noted that “devastated onlookers” shouted for politicians to “do something” as President Joe Biden and the first lady visited a memorial outside the school in Uvalde. The couple then attended Mass at the local Sacred Heart Catholic Church, where protesters outside also shouted “do something!” as the president walked out. “We will,” he answered.

US vice-president Kamala Harris has called for a ban on assault weapons, reported CNN. Attending the funeral of Ruth Whitfield, 86, who was killed in a supermarket in Buffalo, New York state, on 14 May, Harris said it was time to say “enough is enough”.

In the wake of the Buffalo and Texas attacks, Harris said that “everybody’s got to stand up and agree that this should not be happening in our country and that we should have the courage to do something about it”.

However, the NRA, which claims to have five million members, remains a formidable lobbyist in US politics and some commentators doubt that Biden and Harris will be able to stand up to the gun lobby.