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Attendees of the National Rifle Association's annual conference may be heading to Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center in "celebration of Second Amendment rights" but they'll have to forego those rights while Donald Trump is speaking.
The NRA's annual meeting is moving forward as planned just days after 19 children and two teachers were killed in Texas' deadliest school shooting on Tuesday (May 24).
According to the organization, the Secret Service is handling logistics while the former president is speaking and is banning anyone from carrying guns or weapons of any type during his speech. This includes laser pointers, ammunition, toy guns, pepper spray, and knives. Backpacks will also be prohibited from the hall and all attendees will be subjected to a search before entering, the NRA said.
The NRA has banned guns at its annual conferences in the past, like in 2018 when then-vice president Mike Pence was speaking at the event.
In a statement to NPR at the time, the Secret Service said it has the "authority to preclude firearms from entering sites visited by our protectees, including those located in open-carry states."
This also isn't the first time the NRA has held its conference days after a school massacre. In 1999, following the Columbine shooting that left 13 people dead, the NRA moved forward with its convention in Denver.
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