On Friday morning, less than 72 hours after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, thousands of gun owners gathered four hours away in Houston to defend and celebrate the types of laws that made it possible for a teenager to purchase a pair of AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles days after his 18th birthday.
Some came to the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting — part trade show, part right-wing political rally — wearing T-shirts emblazoned with the same type of gun that the shooter reportedly used on Tuesday morning to fire hundreds of deadly rounds at teachers and fourth graders at Robb Elementary School.
“Shame on you!” Alicia Holder, a 33-year-old college student, shouted at a pair of convention goers. “Kids are dead, and you’re walking in smiling like nothing happened.”
The gun control activists and firearm enthusiasts were separated by a four-lane road, metal barricades and horse-mounted police. But the gap between their views on what happened in Uvalde this week — and what should be done about it — was far greater.
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This is a live update. Click here for complete coverage of the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
