US gun safety: NRA protests highlight divide over reforms

Just days after a school shooting in Texas that shocked the world, outraged protesters confronted gun enthusiasts this weekend outside a massive National Rifle Association exhibition in Houston.

Demonstrators held banners calling for more thorough sales background checks, bans on weapons with a faster kill rate, and an end to private gun ownership altogether.

But protesters and gun advocates alike believe that the latest demands for reform will likely fade before they translate into US legislation. The NRA is banking on it.

While the Democratic Party is calling for tougher control measures, vehement opposition by Republicans has resulted in a stalemate. This political divide played out dramatically at the site of the three-day NRA event that ended on Sunday.

"Shame!," gun control advocates chanted outside the venue, to which supporters of the powerful gun lobby organization responded: "Arm the teachers."

The glitzy exhibition showcased 14 acres (about 57,000 square meters) of weapons and gear just a five-hour drive from the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 fourth-graders and two teachers on May 24. The event began less than 72 hours after the mass shooting.

Among the hundreds of guns displayed were AR-15-style rifles similar to what 18-year-old Uvalde gunman Salvador Ramos used. Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the rifle Ramos used, canceled its appearance at the annual convention.

Deeply entrenched gun culture

Gun ownership is protected under the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. The country is home to more civilian-owned guns than people, with a gun culture so normalized that families bring their children to events like the NRA convention.

Inside the venue, a child could be seen at a booth learning to shoot with the help of VR technology as a group of adults cheered him on. 

Scenes like this demonstrate how US gun culture has evolved from protecting a right to self-defense into an active community of gun enthusiasts. 

Supporters proudly don the merchandise of gun manufacturers and collect firearms, as they might with any other hobby. There are countless varieties of pistols, rifles, shotguns and revolvers, all with different finishes and colors to choose from. Some are even engraved or hand-painted.

Part of what drove this shift toward a more open gun culture has been an evolution toward a broader understanding of the Second Amendment.

"Today, a contingent of Americans view it as a virtually unlimited right," Patrick J. Charles, a legal scholar and historian who specializes in gun rights and the Constitution, told DW.

"Even if it was the time when Americans in the 20th century looked at it as an individual right, it was quite a narrow scope to protect yourself at home, and maybe in public — but you needed a license. The right we talk about today … it's so far removed from what was originally intended," Charles said.

More 'extreme' gun advocacy

In the 1970s, nearly a century after it was founded, the NRA started pursuing a more hard-line approach. 

According to Charles, this pull to the extreme was not inherently part of the NRA leadership's agenda, but was necessary to appease its growing membership. Today, the NRA says it has more than 5 million members.

"The NRA knows it has to keep going further to the right to keep its members happy," Charles said. "Even if the NRA disappears tomorrow, this group of advocates … will still exist and find other ways to assemble and be politically active." 

Glenn Keels, a combat veteran and former NRA member, agreed that gun advocates have grown more extreme over the years.

While he doesn't want guns banned altogether, he said that tougher restrictions should be imposed, and that certain types of weapons like the one used by the Uvalde gunman should be outlawed.

"We are calling for sane gun laws. We purposefully used the word sane," Keels told DW.

"They say, 'Oh they could do the same thing with a shotgun.' Bull****," Keels said, before pulling out his phone to show a video of him shooting a similar assault rifle at an outdoor range. 

"No one can defend against that unless you have prepared gear," he added. "You can't hide behind a desk. It goes straight through! Don't tell me you need those for self-defense. It goes through walls!"

Gun advocates blame 'evil'

In 2020, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the latest available to date — indicated that firearms had become the leading cause of death for children, followed by traffic accidents.

NRA members routinely deflect the blame away from guns, claiming that mass killings are an inevitable "evil" that can't be weeded out by gun legislation.

"There are evil people in the world," said Kenny Dobbs, an international slam dunk champion who was engaging with protesters outside the convention. "Even if you take the guns away, you can have an evil person take a vehicle like an SUV and [ram into] 40, 50 people … You can't legislate that away," he told DW. 

"I feel bad for people [protesting], but they're blaming the guns, and it's not the guns," gun owner and NRA member Mark Duncan said.

Political polarization

Guns are a central culture war issue in US politics. The Republican Party staunchly opposes gun control and blocks legislation so it can ensure campaign funds from the NRA — and votes from its supporters.  

With upcoming primary elections on the line, the Republicans are not likely to make any concessions.

Expressing a love of guns and support for the Second Amendment is what gets conservative votes, observers say. The opposite narrative applies to the Democratic Party. 

"Trump — look at all the things he kept saying, like, 'I love the Second Amendment.' He probably couldn't even tell you what it said except that it has something to do with guns. That's what people say to keep the conservatives happy," Charles said.

Gun control bills have already been blocked by the Senate, which is expected to launch a new round of talks to develop gun legislation after the latest shooting.

President Joe Biden visited Uvalde on Sunday, meeting with the families of the children and teachers who were killed. Protestors outside a church service there reportedly chanted "do something" to the president, who responded: "We will."

But given the deep divide in the country over the issue, Charles is skeptical.

"I honestly don't think they're going to come down in support of anything. This is a stall tactic," Charles said. They count on outrage quickly dying down after a shooting happens, he added. "Something else will pop up and they can move on to the next thing."

Keels, the veteran who spent his afternoon protesting outside the convention, sees the near future of gun control equally bleakly.

Asked if there will be gun reforms in America, he said: "I doubt it. I think it's going to get worse before it gets better … I'm not very hopeful."

"But we have got to keep trying."

Editor: Kristen Allen