Alexandra Ulmer, Daniel Trotta and Arathy Smasekhar

HOUSTON (Reuters] – America’s largest gun lobby, The National Rifle Association (NRA), continued to prepare for their annual gathering in Houston on Friday. Houston is just 280 miles (450km) away from the site of America’s worst school shootings in a decade.

Armed with a semiautomatic gun that he legally owned, an 18-year old gunman stormed Uvalde Elementary School in Texas on Tuesday. The attack resulted in the deaths of 19 children as well as two teachers.

This year’s NRA meeting takes place in the wake of two recent gun-driven mass shootings. A white supremacist vowedly armed with a semiautomatic rifle killed 10 Black victims at a Buffalo supermarket, New York earlier in the month.

The NRA will likely ignore any new demands for gun control, even though gun sales are on the rise in a nation where gun rights have been enshrined into the Constitution. It is close to the NRA that the Republican Party has opposed efforts by Democratic Party members in Congress to pass stricter gun laws.

The NRA’s page dedicated to this gathering features a prominent message that offers its “deepest sympathy” to Tuesday’s victims. The page’s rest promotes the annual gathering, at which Republicans such as former President Donald Trump will be speaking.

Wayne LaPierre (NRA CEO) says, “See thousands guns from top producers,” in the video. We must be prepared for the enemies of freedom.

This is part of the NRA’s decades-old strategy to resist gun control demands. It stems from the Columbine High School massacre of 1999.

The NRA annual convention in Denver was then scheduled for the following day. It had been just days since the shooting. In which high school seniors killed twelve classmates and one teacher, before taking their lives.

NPR 2021 recorded top NRA officials agreeing not to cancel the meeting. This was partly to avoid appearing to take responsibility for the massacre.

Media reports from the time indicated that the meeting was canceled and that a related gun show had been cancelled.

However, its Houston meeting comes as the NRA faces many challenges – aside from the shootings it also has to contend with internal discord and corruption scandals.

Brandon Rottinghaus (a University of Houston political science professor) said that the NRA was “fumbling financially” and “organizationally.” However, Rottinghaus said, “their power goes beyond politics.” This is about creating a story about gun ownership in America.

After Letitia Jam, New York’s Attorney General, sued the NRA, the NRA suffered a bad reputation among gun rights advocates. James claimed that NRA senior officials diverted millions to personal uses, such as family vacations to the Bahamas. A U.S. bankruptcy judge rejected the NRA’s application for bankruptcy protection. The group was found not to have filed Chapter 11 in good-faith.

LaPierre, a Houston Democrat facing a leadership challenge, is being watched by the NRA as it considers the possibilities of bankruptcy and a takeover from James. However, it is generally expected that he will be able to continue his role.

Richard Feldman (a former lobbyist for the NRA) stated that “the NRA is more focused on their internal struggle right now” than lobbying. It’s all about the survival of current leadership and board.

The NRA has not responded to any requests for comment.

When asked if the meeting’s timing was right, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated, “It is not about the convention. What is inappropriate? The (NRA leadership)… has repeatedly proven that they are contributing the problem of firearm violence and not trying to fix it.”

Arms manufacturer Daniel Defense said it was no longer attending the NRA meeting due to the Uvalde shooting where “one of our products was criminally misused.” “We believe this week is not the appropriate time to be promoting our products in Texas at the NRA meeting,” Steve Reed, VP of Marketing, said in an email.

AMERICANS HAVE NUANCED VIEW OF GUNS

Americans generally support the rights to possess firearms as well as the regulation of gun ownership. On Wednesday, 66%, which included 53% Republicans, favored strong gun control regulations.

Respondents indicated that 57% were less likely than others to vote for candidates who take money from gunmakers and the NRA, which is also the view of 43% Republicans.

The NRA claims it now has over 5 million members. National and state-level gun right groups emerged, sometimes advocating a platform for gun control compromise.

Shannon Watts (founder of Moms Demand Action), stated that “The gun lobby” has only become more violent, dangerous, and extreme over the years.

Gun Owners of America, a group that bills itself as harder than the NRA and which was involved in the Uvalde shootings, suggested to policymakers that they should consider “real solutions” such as arming teachers.