Protesters are keeping their promise to put pressure on the National Weapons Association during its annual congress in Houston this Friday, days after a legally armed teenager allegedly shot and killed 19 students and two teachers at a primary school in Uwalde.
The investigation into the shooting – as well as the delayed police response – remained active on Friday as several Republican officials, including former President Donald Trump and Senator Ted Cruz, had to speak to NRA members. Governor Greg Abbott and others declined to attend the meeting, although the governor will give pre-recorded notes to the meeting.
At Discovery Green in front of the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, where people gathered to protest the NRA’s annual congress to be held there after the shooting at Rob Elementary School in Uwalde, Texas earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/YsVBI8qnOX
– Ariana Garcia 🇵🇷 (@Ariana_noGrande) May 27, 2022
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo delivered a speech at a rally against gun violence at Discovery Green, Houston, Friday, May 27, 2022.
Ariana Garcia
According to a Houston Police Department officer, the protest drew approximately 4,000 protesters, as well as several speakers, including US Sheila Jackson Lee and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo.
“Our hearts are breaking,” Hidalgo told the crowd. “The children are terrified. The mothers are terrified. The fathers are terrified. Teachers, school administrators, they carry the burden of the world on their shoulders.”
Harris County Judge @LinaHidalgoTX speaks in favor of gun reform at the #NRAconvention protest at Discovery Green pic.twitter.com/T7lMzRLxhl
– Ariana Garcia 🇵🇷 (@Ariana_noGrande) May 27, 2022
Hidalgo, who wore a T-shirt from the National Weapons Safety Organization Moms Demand Action, continued: “I offer my sadness. I offer my anger. I know I share it with you. I offer my thoughts and offer my prayers,” Hidalgo said, urging Republican leaders , who offered their thoughts and prayers for the victims after the shooting in Uwalde. “But you did not choose me to offer my thoughts and offer my prayers.
Hidalgo also called for a special legislative session to regulate the purchase, sale and storage of weapons. US Senator Roland Gutierrez (D-San Antonio), representing Uwalde, is also calling for a special session. “If Greg Abbott can convene a special session, a second special session and a third special session to prevent people from voting, he can certainly convene a special session to protect babies from murder,” Hidalgo said.
Democratic Gov. Texas nominee Beto O’Rourke speaks at a rally against gun violence at Discovery Green in Houston on Friday, May 27, 2022.
Ariana Garcia
Hopefully, Texas Gov. Beto O’Rourke, a Democrat who opposed Abbott for firing at a news conference earlier this week, also speaks.
“There are some, including those who have lost those dearest to them, who say it’s too early to talk about what we’re going to do to prevent this from happening again,” O’Rourke told the audience. . “I hope you agree with me that the time we had to stop Uwalde was right after Sandy Hook. The time to stop Uwalde was right after Parkland. The time we stopped Uwalde was right after Santa Fe High School. The time to stop the mass shootings in this country is right now, right here, today. ”
O’Rourke also addressed those attending the NRA congress on the other side of the protest, urging them to join the fight against gun violence. “You are not our enemies. We are not yours,” O’Rourke said. “We extend our hand open and unarmed in a gesture of peace and friendship to welcome you to join us to make sure this does not happen again in this country.
Before leaving, O’Rourke asked those present to “join in.” [lawmaker’s] persons before another child is shot in their face. “
Children on stage at Discovery Green carry photos of victims of gun violence during a rally against gun violence in Houston on Friday, May 27, 2022.
Ariana Garcia
Jackson Lee called on the NRA and Trump to repeal the convention, which is scheduled to last until Sunday. As she spoke, she was surrounded by children bearing the names of the children killed in the Uwalde shooting.
“I want you to look at these babies and remind you of those in Uwalde,” Jackson Lee told the crowd. “I want you to look at these babies and know that they love teddy bears, they love Lego, they love hugs and they love good food. Do you know what they have now? Body bags.
Weapons control activist and survivor of the Parkland shooting, David Hogg, addressed a crowd at Discovery Green during a rally against gun violence in Houston on Friday, May 27, 2022.
Ariana Garcia
Other speakers, including Parkland survivors and March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg, made similar calls, adding that the movement to end gun violence is stronger than ever. “We need allies,” Hogg said, referring to the NRA Convention, which is taking place across the street. “You are complicit in this if you do not oppose it.”
Organizers staged the protest almost immediately after the shooting, according to Ashton Woods, leader of the Black Lives Matter in Houston.
It’s about making sure we create a connection to power while calling for an organization that enables Republicans … like Greg Abbott and other people who make these laws and put them in books to make things easier. Woods said. “These same people are talking about the right to life and the family. The child is a human being at conception, but you will not protect the children who live.”
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