The National Rifle Association’s Annual Leadership Forum will be held in Houston on Friday, where former President Donald Trump is set to speak. This is just days after a mass shooting took place at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, leaving 21 dead.
Upon the news of Trump’s attendance, the NRA announced that the hall where the former president will speak will be secured by the Secret Service. No weapons or firearms will be allowed in the building, and no storage for firearms will be provided.
What not to bring: Here’s a full list of items not allowed in the assembly hall, via the NRA.
- Aerosols.
- Ammunition.
- Backpacks.
- Bags larger than 18-by-13-by-7.
- Drones and other unmanned aircraft systems.
- Firearms.
- Glass, thermal or metal containers.
- Gun parts, holsters, magazines, etc.
- Knives.
- Laser pointers.
- Mace/pepper spray.
- Selfie sticks.
- Signs.
- Toy guns.
- Umbrellas.
- Weapons of any kind.
Every audience member will be searched by security with magnetometers before entering the hall, the NRA said.
A look back: This isn’t the first time firearms have been banned from an NRA conference. The same ban was set in place in 2018 when former Vice President Mike Pence spoke at the forum, according to ABC.
NRA and Denver: This also isn’t the first time the NRA has held a conference in the days following a mass shooting, in the state where shooting took place, according to NPR.
- After the the Columbine High School shooting in 1999, the NRA held an event in Denver, just days after the massacre.
Trump speaks out: Trump voiced his thoughts on his social media site, Truth Social, about the shooting and the NRA forum this week.
- “America needs real solutions and real leadership in this moment, not politics and partisanship,” Trump wrote, via ABC.
“That’s why I will keep my commitment to speak in Texas at the NRA convention and deliver an important message to America,” Trump stated. “In the meantime, we will all continue to pray for the victims, their families, and our entire nation — we are all in this together!”