♦ The NRA Congress, three days after the massacre
Three days after the massacre of 19 children between the ages of 8 and 10 and two teachers by an 18-year-old boy armed with an assault rifle, the annual congress of the powerful arms lobby, the National Rifle Association (NRA) in Texas, 4h30 by road from there. The day after the massacre, former President Donald Trump refused to cancel his intervention. Other personalities are also expected such as Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Greg Abbott, Texas No. 2 and the Attorney General, all dubbed by the former president. The NRA, urged by all elected Democrats to postpone this event out of respect for the 21 victims, also refused to cancel the meeting.
The National Rifle Association expects 50,000 members and all gun manufacturers. All except the company Daniel Defense, manufacturer of the weapon used by the shooter Salvador Romas. Their stand on nearly 6 hectares of weapons and materials, as the NRA advertises, will be empty. On the side, absentees having found conflicting agendas at the last moment, the other senator from Texas, John Cornyn decided Thursday that he would not participate being for personal reasons in Washington. Rising star of the Republican Party, veteran Dan Crenshaw will be kicked off in Ukraine on Friday. Two country artists also canceled their participation, Larry Gatlin and Don McLean.
A rally is scheduled for Saturday in front of the convention center. Among the protesters, the mayor of Houston, but also Beto O’Rourke, who had already interrupted the Texas governor’s press conference on Wednesday, accusing him of having done nothing since the last attack on a school in Texas. We are expecting a lot of people.