Former President Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott vow to continue protecting 2nd Amendment rights at NRA Convention in Dallas
DALLAS – Former president and presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump told as many as 6,000 people at the NRA Convention in Dallas that he will do all he can to uphold the Second Amendment. "We need it for safety because you know the bad guys are not going to give up their guns."
As one might expect, the NRA endorsed Trump.
At the same time, his campaign and the Republican National Committee launched the Gun Owners for Trump Coalition.
He urged the crowd to vote. "We've got to get gun owners to vote. Let there be no doubt, our Second Amendment is very much on the ballot. The Second Amendment is under siege."
Outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, the Democratic National Committee sponsored a mobile billboard that circled the convention center, criticizing the former President's gun policies.
Outside the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, site of the NRA Convention, the DNC has a mobile billboard circling the area to criticize the fmr. President’s gun policies. @CBSNewsTexas pic.twitter.com/oahWdHLCdx
— Jack Fink (@cbs11jack) May 18, 2024
They along with a senior spokesman for the Biden-Harris campaign, Kevin Munoz, point to statistics showing gun violence is the leading killer among those between the ages of one and 18. "When you look at what Donald Trump is headed to Texas to do, he's not going to do anything to help save the lives of kids across the country. He's going to again side with the gun lobby over the lives of our innocent children."
NRA members at the convention say they believe their Second Amendment rights are especially crucial given the record number of people who've crossed the southern border illegally during the Biden administration.
That was echoed by Gov. Greg Abbott who also spoke. "Now more than ever, we must fight to protect our Second Amendment rights. According to the NRA, Texas has passed more significant Second Amendment protections than any other state."
Giffords, an organization that advocates gun violence prevention, says gun-related deaths have surged under Gov. Abbott, amid a number of deadly mass shootings including in Allen last year and Uvalde two years ago.
The director of Giffords Texas, Roger Garza, told CBS News Texas, they're launching a multi-year advocacy plan. "Our goal is to make sure that by the end of those years, we have passed common sense, gun safety reforms, and we have legislators, both in D.C. and Austin, whose views align with the vast majority of Texans on gun safety."
But the former president warned NRA members what he believes is at stake. "If the Biden regime gets four more years, they're coming for your guns. 100% certain."
Polls in Texas show gun control and gun violence rank far behind inflation and the economy, border security and immigration, as a top concerns by voters.
Since Uvalde, polls have shown a majority of Texans favor increasing restrictions on gun sales and background checks, but Republicans in Congress and the legislature have not lost any seats.