Washington, Apr 14 (EFE).- The United States arms lobby turned its annual meeting this Friday into a campaign event ahead of the 2024 elections, where the main Republican candidates, including former President Donald Trump, participated in defense of the right of citizens to bear arms.
The National Rifle Association (NRA) brought together at the Indianapolis convention center, in the state of Indiana, both those conservatives who have already run for President, as well as others who have not yet taken the plunge but that appear in all the pools.
NRA, interviewer Trump
The only one absent was businessman Perry Johnson, who announced in March that he would run for the Republican nomination for president.
“On the first day of my new term I will stop Joe Biden’s war against legal gun owners,” said Trump, keynote speaker at the so-called Leadership Forum and a staunch supporter of “people being able to defend themselves.”
In that augured return to the White House, the former Republican leader pointed out that, to protect the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which grants citizens the right to keep and bear arms, he will pass laws that protect “the absolute right to self-defense with federal fines for fiscal abuse”.
“If they put me back in the White House, the United States will be a free nation again,” said Trump, who accused the Democrats of “destroying the country” and “wanting to take the guns away from the people while they open the doors of jail and release bloodthirsty criminals.”
Criticism of support for weapons
The NRA meeting, which concludes on Sunday, has been the subject of strong criticism from Democratic lawmakers, who reproach the top ranks of the Republican Party for having attended that event despite the continuous flow of shootings in the country.
So far this year, as of this Friday, according to The Gun Violence Archive, which documents acts of gun violence in the country, there have been 150 mass shootings in the United States, a term that includes a minimum of four people injured. or deceased, without counting the aggressor.
“There is no arms problem. There is a mental health problem, a social, cultural and spiritual problem, ”Trump alleged in his intervention.
The former governor of Arkansas Asa Hutchinson and the businessman Vivek Ramaswamy were also present in person, while another candidate who also aspires to the White House – the former US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley – sent a recorded message.
DeSantis participated
African-American Senator Tim Scott, who on Wednesday announced the creation of an exploratory committee to analyze his options for the 2024 elections, also intervened electronically, as did Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, seen as the main opponent of Trump although he has not yet run.
“Let’s win in 2024 to protect our freedoms,” said Hutchinson, who accused the Joe Biden Administration of not doing its job and stressed that his own response “to the challenge of violence can be summed up in four words: compliance with the law.” .
DeSantis, for his part, considered that the Second Amendment is the basis on which all other rights rest.
“It guarantees the American people the ability to defend their lives, their fortunes and their honor. (…) It is no coincidence that, throughout history, authoritarian regimes have sought to disarm their citizens, ”he pointed out.
The meeting was also joined by former US Vice President Mike Pence, who was in the White House with Trump and is also listed in the pools as a potential candidate for 2024.
“I have come to the NRA to say enough is enough. It’s time we stand up for America and for freedom. With a new Republican Congress and a new Republican President we will kick those liberals out of our gun stores and out of our lives,” he concluded.