Hundreds of demonstrators are expected to gather in Dallas on Saturday outside the National Rifle Association’s annual convention to demand new laws to curb gun violence.
Digital billboards around downtown have begun highlighting the number of gun deaths in Texas, and faith-based groups plan to display T-shirts representing some of the people killed by gun violence.
As the nation’s largest gun lobby prepares to convene, gun reform activists hope to draw attention to what they call the devastating effects of gun violence. Gun deaths in Texas have increased 62% since Texas Governor Greg Abbott was first elected, from 2,848 in 2014 to 4,630 in 2022, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. .
Gun violence prevention groups like Moms Demand Action and Giffords, as well as the interfaith policy organization Texas Impact, will also be at Saturday’s rally in front of Dallas City Hall, calling for mandatory background checks on all firearm sales and an age of purchase. We call for stricter gun regulations, including raising the From 18:00 to 21:00.
“This doesn’t have to be a partisan issue. It could just be about safety,” said Miriam Sharma, co-leader of the Dallas Moms Demand Action Coalition. dallas morning news “Regardless of party affiliation, we can all agree that this is an issue,” he said Tuesday.
More than 70,000 gun rights supporters are expected to attend the convention, which will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center. The convention center will feature 14 acres of guns and equipment, as well as classes in concealed carry and long-range shooting. Former President Donald Trump, who is running for office and is in the midst of a criminal trial, is scheduled to give the keynote address. Mr. Abbott, a longtime NRA supporter, will also be in attendance.
Giffords, a national gun violence prevention organization, announced this week that it is launching a Texas chapter to engage with groups affected by gun violence and recruit, train and select gun safety leaders. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona founded the organization after she was shot during a rally with voters in 2011.
As part of the launch, the organization installed more than 20 electronic billboards in downtown Dallas and along the Stemmons Freeway to highlight the role the NRA and gun industry play in the spread of gun violence.
“We’re not here to take away anyone’s guns,” said Roger Garza, Giffords’ Texas state director. “We want to make sure Texas has common-sense gun laws that save lives.”
NRA spokesman Nick Perine said Monday that the annual convention is a celebration of the Second Amendment.
“People clearly have a right to express their opinions pursuant to the First Amendment,” he said. “Just as our members come together to exercise their First Amendment rights and celebrate freedom and the Second Amendment.”
Garza acknowledged Texas’ strong gun culture and said he understands that the state won’t be able to move forward with gun reform easily. But he said the gun lobby’s grip on politics has weakened in recent years, largely due to a steady stream of mass shootings, giving room for reform.
The NRA does not release membership numbers, but multiple reports say the organization has lost about 1 million members since its peak in 2018 and has seen a significant drop in revenue. Longtime leader Wayne LaPierre was found guilty in February of improperly spending millions of dollars in NRA funds on exotic vacations and trips on private planes and yachts. Mr. LaPierre announced his resignation several days before the start of his trial.
Garza also pointed to a Texas Politics Project poll that found three-quarters of Texas voters support raising the legal age to buy a gun from 18 to 21.
“What Texans feel about gun safety is not aligned with their legislators,” Garza said Wednesday. “What we’re ultimately trying to do is align these things with each other.”
As part of Saturday’s rally, Texas Impact will display an installation displaying 500 T-shirts representing people who have died from gun violence (both suicides and homicides) in Dallas County. The faith-based organization worked with six congregations in the Dallas area to create the shirts.
Bobby Watson, the group’s policy advocate, said the installation is intended as a monument and a call to action for policymakers.
“The cost of inaction on gun violence prevention is staggering,” he said Tuesday. “There are real human costs if you don’t try to reach a solution.”
Protests are nothing new to NRA conventions, and meetings inside the convention center are unlikely to be disrupted. In 2022, the NRA met days after the Uvalde massacre, which killed 19 children and two adults and sparked violent protests in Houston. Some held placards and chanted “The NRA should go away” and “Shame on you.”
And in 2018, both pro-gun and anti-gun activists gathered in downtown Dallas during the NRA convention, and police tried to separate the two sides. Then-Dallas Mayor Pro Tem Dwayne Caraway told the NRA that it was inappropriate for the city to host the convention three months after a gunman killed 17 people at a high school in Parkland, Florida. He urged them to reconsider the meeting.
