ALBAWABA- A number of 2024 Republican presidential hopefuls are attending a National Rifle Association (NRA) convention in Indianapolis, where they are courting gun rights activists.
The event comes in the wake of two recent mass shootings in Kentucky and Tennessee. Among the attendees are former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and candidate Vivek Ramaswamy. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, South Carolina Senator Tim Scott, and former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley will deliver video messages.
The NRA has seen its power wane in recent years amid leadership fights and legal battles. Nonetheless, the group remains influential among conservatives, and its annual gatherings continue to attract presidential hopefuls. This year’s event comes after a shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, in which five people died, and less than three weeks after another shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, which claimed the lives of three children and three adults.
The conventions underscore how deeply entrenched gun rights advocates and Republican political figures have become despite the United States’ rash of mass shootings in recent years.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); -->“The Republican Party continues to put the gun industry and the gun makers before the safety of our kids and our families. It’s extraordinary, it’s heartbreaking and it’s infuriating,” Connecticut Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy told reporters on a call Thursday.
The Republican Party’s opposition to new gun control measures has shown some signs of cracking, such as when 15 Senate Republicans joined Democrats to advance a bill that offers grants to states that enact “red flag” laws and crisis prevention programs, and closed the so-called “boyfriend loophole.” In Tennessee, Republican Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order intended to strengthen background checks for gun purchases and has urged the Republican-led legislature to approve a “red flag” law.
“It is possible to get this done. We should work to set aside our differences and accomplish something that Tennesseans want us to get accomplished,” Lee said Tuesday.
In the early stages of the 2024 presidential race, Republican contenders are squarely focused on appealing to the party’s pro-gun rights base. The NRA endorsed Trump in May 2016, but an early endorsement for 2024 seems unlikely at this stage, despite efforts from Trump’s team to secure the support. Gun rights advocates describe Trump’s presidency as a mixed bag, and his legacy on gun rights may evolve over years and decades as his three Supreme Court selections issue new rulings.
