NRA Rally and Concert to Proceed in Houston Over Memorial Day Weekend, Three Days After Uvalde School Shooting

variety.com:

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorWith speeches from former President Donald Trump, Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Texas Senator Ted Cruz; with “over 14 acres of guns and gear and 800 exhibitors”; and with a concert featuring Don McLean, Lee Greenwood, Larry Gatlin, and others, the National Rifle Association’s “Biggest show of the year” is taking place this Memorial Day weekend — three days after a school shooting in which at least 19 children and two adults were killed in Uvalde, Texas, less than 300 miles away.It was the deadliest and at least the tenth mass shooting and the 27th school shooting in the U.S.

this year alone — including one in Houston just two weeks ago, in which two men were killed and three critically wounded. “Join us as we celebrate the NRA’s 150th anniversary over Memorial Day weekend,” trumpets a message on the not-for-profit organization’s website and over its phone lines. “Make plans now to join fellow Second Amendment patriots for a freedom-filled weekend for the entire family as we celebrate Freedom, Firearms, and the Second Amendment!”As of Wednesday afternoon, the gun-lobbyist organization’s annual meeting was still scheduled to take place at the city’s George R.

Brown Convention Center from Friday to Sunday, according to its website. Along with McLean, Gatlin and Greenwood, scheduled concert performers for the country-leaning concert, which is billed as a “Grand Ole Night of Freedom,” are T.

Graham Brown, Jacob Bryant, Danielle Peck, and Larry Stewart. Reps for Gatlin and Stewart confirmed to Variety that they will still be performing; reps for the other artists did not immediately respond..