NRA urged to cancel Houston convention following Texas school shooting tragedy 5/26/22 Transcript

Jonathan Martin: (00:00) The NRA's three-day conference will start Friday here in Houston as scheduled, even though demands for it to be canceled are growing louder tonight. FOX26's Randy Wallace joining us live from the George R. Brown Convention Center, where the event is set to take place. Randy. Randy Wallace: (00:15) Yeah, that's right, Jonathan. Mayor Sylvester Turner says the NRA convention was scheduled two years ago, and canceling it now could cause the city to be a target of lawsuits. Now, the mayor questions why some elected officials would still show up here to speak in light of what happened in Uvalde. John Whitmire: (00:34) We personalize these matters. I have six and eight-year-old grandsons. So you hear about tragedies that involve babies, and it shocks your conscience. And then you become angry, determined to address the problem. Randy Wallace: (00:52) And it's a problem we all want fixed, but there's no easy answers. While the investigation is ongoing, this latest mass school shooting is once again bringing gun control laws to the forefront. John Whitmire: (01:05) As soon as he's 18, goes and buys assault rifles, that should have set off alarms. And it's just not the system right now. You only have to be 18 to buy rifles in the state of Texas. I think we should visit that. We should certainly do background checks. And the number of rounds that he bought. Randy Wallace: (01:25) Some lawmakers talk big about change on the heels of mass shootings, but then do little to nothing to make gun laws more restrictive. In fact, Texas legislators have loosened gun laws. Just last year permit-less carry was passed into law. John Whitmire: (01:41) So now if you want a pistol, no questions asked. You get up in the morning, you get a gun, you go to town. No background checks, no training. So, hell, if anything, we've pushed the opportunity. We've increased the opportunity for folks to arm themself. Randy Wallace: (01:57) State Senator John Whitmire believes gun control law should be bipartisan. This is an election year. If you don't know who your state senator or state representative is, find out and review their voting record. Then go vote. John Whitmire: (02:11) The real fear is in a month from now it's off the front page, people just kind of go back to their corners, and there won't be serious discussion. That's certainly what happened after Santa Fe. We had hearings, proposals about making schools more secure, but obviously it didn't work for Uvalde. Randy Wallace: (02:31) Former president Donald Trump and US Senator Ted Cruz are expected to attend the NRA convention. Governor Greg Abbot is scheduled to speak, but it's not clear yet if he's actually going to show up here. Reporting live from downtown, Randy Wallace, FOX 26 News.