NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
HOUSTON, Texas – The 2022 National Rifle Association convention began Friday in Texas and some members of the gun advocacy group who attended the event voiced opposition to calls for gun control while discussing ways forward.
The annual convention came after the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 children and two adults dead.
The convention, held at the George R. Brown Convention Center amid close protests from gun control advocates, welcomed thousands of people who showed fierce support for the preservation of the Second Amendment and gun rights. .
NAP LAPIERRE SAYS WEAPON CONTROL IS NOT THE RESPONSE TO THE TEXAS MASSACRE
Signage outside the National Rifle Association (NRA) annual convention in Houston, Texas, USA, Friday, May 27, 2022. (Mark Felix / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Franklin, a native of Newnan, Georgia, who preferred to give only his name, traveled nearly 11 hours to show his support for the NRA. He said the convention shows “the best that America has to offer” when it comes to firearms and discussed how America should move forward after the recent Texas tragedy.
“What happened to these kids is horrible, it’s scary, it’s sad,” he said. “I send prayers to these families today and for the rest of my days.”
Different stands are displayed at the NRA 2022 Convention Exhibition Center in Houston. (Fox News Digital)
“While it hurts me with families and others who have lost children in school shootings, we need to have an honest conversation,” Franklin added. “The ANR did not do that. No one but the gunman did that. We cannot allow those who call for gun restrictions to step in to fix this crisis. We must do what is necessary to protect these schools, and either to improve security in schools, by making armed officers work in schools or by making schools one-way entry areas. “
“Taking the gun rights on Americans who could potentially dissolve a situation like this is not the answer,” he said. “Politicians need to have real, meaningful conversations that will enact change forever. Again, it’s not the ANR’s fault or the weapon’s fault, it’s the shooter’s fault and God has gone out with him.” .
Mark and Carol McElroy of New Braunfels, Texas, a small town near San Antonio, told Fox News Digital that they are both members of the NRA and said they came to the convention to “support the Second Amendment. “.
Different stands are displayed at the NRA 2022 Convention Exhibition Center in Houston, Texas. (Fox News Digital)
Asked about school shootings and what can be done to prevent or deter future tragedies in schools when it comes to armed violence, the couple insisted that a focus on mental health and background check is essential.
BETO O’ROURKE, ARMS CONTROL DEFENDERS PROTEST OUTSIDE NRA CONVENTION: “SHAME ON YOU”
“There’s a big hole in the school system,” Mark said. “There’s a mental health problem somewhere.”
“The country is certainly divided, obviously there is no doubt about it,” he added. “We would both like states to implement a background check for minors.”
Different stands are displayed at the NRA 2022 Convention Exhibition Center in Houston. (Fox News Digital)
Carol said she believes teachers “should go armed” if they like it and “taught proper weapons handling and gun safety.”
“I’m all for that,” he said. “I think that would help a lot, and it would give a little bit more awareness to schools that there is such a thing and that they are armed.” He said he would send a strong message to those who plan to hurt schoolchildren not to “come to this school, that we are prepared for bad people.”
Different stands are displayed at the NRA 2022 Convention Exhibition Center in Houston. (Fox News Digital)
Reducing gun control calls and other legislation, Carol said, “Democrats are determined to get rid of everything Republicans want to do right.”
“It’s a sad and sad situation,” he said, adding that those in elected office, specifically President Biden and his party, “don’t think about people, they just think about themselves.”
TRUMP SAYS “THE EXISTENCE OF EVIL” IS WHY LAW-RESPECTED AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED A SECOND AMENDMENT
Different stands are displayed at the NRA 2022 Convention Exhibition Center in Houston. (Fox News Digital)
Don Fauch, a longtime U.S. Army veteran and NRA member who traveled to Houston for the convention from Plano, Texas, insisted that the first reason so many people commit heinous crimes, whether against schoolchildren or people who shop in supermarkets, is because there is a lack of attention to people who suffer mentally.
“We have a mental health crisis,” he said. “When people realize this and are on the street corners addressing this issue, you may see some change. That, along with school safety standards, will be what will put this nation on track “I know because I found help after serving this beautiful country. I needed help and I found it. We need resources for others to find it too.”
Different stands are displayed at the NRA 2022 Convention Exhibition Center in Houston. (Fox News Digital)
Referring to those who came out of the convention in protest against the ANR, Fauch said: the NRA will gladly do so, endangering their lives with a gun. “
“The people at this convention are good people. They are the ones who use their weapons to help you when you need them most. The tragedy will hit us again somewhere and the people here know it. We know that “We need to make sure that schools are safer and that we make schools safer and more responsible in schools.”