Even in the shadow of this week’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, former President Donald Trump went ahead with a speech at the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting in Houston that kicked off Friday.
Hundreds of businesses did the same and also participated at the event.
The NRA lists over 600 companies as participating in the exhibitors’ portion of this weekend’s gathering. The vast exhibit hall will operate all weekend with the website touting “over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear from the most popular companies in the industry.” Photos from the event on Friday showed a wide range of weapons on display, similar to previous NRA gatherings.
The large business presence comes amid a wave of attendee dropouts after 19 children and 2 adults were killed in Uvalde, Texas. “American Pie” singer Don McLean was one singer scheduled to perform but withdrew and told news outlets “it would be disrespectful” to…
