What is NRA? Pro-gun rights group receive massive hate online following Texas school shooting

Several Republican lawmakers, including Gov. Greg Abbott and former President Donald Trump, are scheduled to speak at a National Rifle Association (NRA) gathering in Houston, just 72 hours after at least 18 children and a teacher were shot to death at an elementary school 300 miles away in Uvalde, Texas. The conference has led to the group massively being trolled on social media.

The NRA is the most influential lobbying group in the United States for gun rights. The NRA has traditionally fought attempts to curb gun ownership. It unsuccessfully sued Texas in 2011 to force the state to decrease the legal age for holding a weapon from 21 to 18.

Following the school massacre in Texas that claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults, President Biden condemned the incident and asked:

"When are we going to stand up to the gun lobby?"

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Some background on NRA and their pro-gun rights lobbying

The National Rifle Association is a gun rights organization. The two US Civil War veterans started the organization in 1871 as a recreational association to "promote and encourage rifle shooting on a scientific basis."

The NRA's foray into political lobbying began in 1934 when it began sending out letters to members informing them of upcoming weapons legislation. The National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA) and the Gun Control Act of 1968 (GCA) were supported by the organization, but it became more politically engaged after the enactment of the GCA in the 1970s.

It began directly influencing policy in 1975 through the Institute for Legislative Action, a newly founded lobbying arm. It established a Political Action Committee (PAC) in 1977 to transfer contributions to MPs.

With a large budget to influence members of Congress on gun policy, the NRA has become one of the most powerful special interest lobby groups in the United States. Wayne LaPierre, the executive vice-president, is in charge.

Since 2020, prosecutors in New York and Washington, DC, have attempted to dissolve the organization, claiming that senior leadership misappropriated a charity fund and used the money for extravagant personal spending.

The organization called the lawsuit a "baseless, planned attack."

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Guns have been banned at the upcoming NRA convention in Texas

Attendees at the group's annual convention, held in Houston, will not be allowed to carry guns during his speech.

Many netizens have expressed shock that the meeting will take place even after the mass shooting at Uvalde elementary school that claimed the lives of at least 21 people, including 19 pupils.

The Secret Service is reportedly seizing control of the hall during Trump's speech, barring guests from having firearms, firearms accessories, or knives. Weapons, laser pointers, pepper spray, toy weapons, backpacks, and other prohibited items.

The Secret Service will use magnetometers to examine participants before they enter the hall. The Secret Service told the organization that it has the "power to prohibit weapons from being brought into venues visited by our protectees, even those in open-carry states."

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Netizens react to upcoming NRA conference in Texas following the school shooting

People on Twitter have slammed the organization, which has always been against attempts to enforce gun control for the general public.

Cancel the NRA-ILA Leadership Conference in Honor of the Uvalde Shooting Victims — Sign the Petition, wrote one user.