Keith Gillen told the National Rifle Association’s annual conference in Houston yesterday that the Texas school shooting incident was “disgusting” but “you can’t blame the gun that killed 21 kids and a teacher.”
“We have always had weapons in this country,” adds the 68-year-old retired postal worker, noting that he has more than 50 weapons.
Gillen is standing in line to watch former US President Donald Trump address the National Assembly of the Armed Forces, which is taking place in Houston three days after the Yuvaldi Elementary School massacre, hours away from the convention site.
The convention of the National Gun Lobby Association runs until Sunday at a large convention center in downtown Houston, where gun opponents are demonstrating outside.
One of them is holding a sign that reads: “Our hands are covered in blood.”
During the conference, Trump received a standing ovation when he named all the children who died, calling them the victims of a “crazy” out-of-control person, before returning to point out that gun control efforts were “weird”. .”
He criticized Democrats for “demonizing” the “peaceful and law-abiding” members of the National Rifle Association.
For his part, Jim Maynard, one of the gun owners and industry advocates, says he agreed to hold the conference on time despite the sadness in the US, adding: “Demonization of guns does not solve the problem we face.”
