This year’s Annual Meeting of the National Rifle Association (NRA) includes four event-filled days. The NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits are widely known as one of the premier outdoor hunting and shooting shows in the United States, drawing to it multitudes of Second Amendment supporters from across the nation.
It is expected that more than 80,000 patrons will visit Dallas, Texas for the affair. Many more will stand on the sidelines while protesting its existence. Apprehension has been rising in Dallas ahead of the upcoming NRA meeting. President Trump, along with Vice President Mike Pence, is expected to speak at this year’s National Rifle Association convention shortly after it opens. It is expected that Trump will be met with a capacity crowd.
Los Angeles Times reported, when it was announced that President Trump would be speaking at the NRA event , some people recalled the “darkest day in Dallas involving a gun: November 22, 1963, when President John F. Kennedy was fatally shot in downtown Dealey Plaza.”
Dallas is a vastly Democratic city and has recently been plagued by extreme gun violence. A mere two years ago, Dallas underwent what was reported by CNN as the “deadliest incident for law enforcement in the United States since 9/11” when 11 police officers were shot in the streets of an anti-brutality rally. Councilman Dwaine Caraway urged the NRA to avoid Dallas as a venue.
Caraway joined protesters who are gathering against the NRA meeting. The councilman encouraged protesters to take a stand. “They have the power to force the NRA officials to negotiate gun control measures.”
MOMENTS AGO: President Trump addresses reporters on his way to NRA speech in Dallas https://t.co/JseDI9SPqQ pic.twitter.com/3wYlaPGyrR
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2018
Officers watching over the NRA Annual Meeting and the protesting crowds are, understandably, taking precautionary measures. Dallas County Sherriff Marian Brown said that the people attending the meeting, as well as the protestors, will ultimately take their cue from the law enforcement officials on site. He further explained that if the officers appear that they have planned for anything and everything, and they remain calm, the crowd will be calm as well.
Many individuals, in support of both the NRA and Trump, have chosen to make an impromptu trip to the meeting, excited that President Trump has made a last-minute decision to address the crowd.
Trump supporter Attorney Theresa Napolitano has traveled from N.J. with her daughter. About President Trump, Napolitano said, “I see what he’s doing for my country. We appreciate the support.”
