NRA

Donald Trump is among the luminaries who are slated to speak at the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum on May 27.

The event will be the first annual meeting of the gun group since the outbreak of the pandemic.

It also will be the first session since the latest mass shooting at a school in the US.

The NRA’s meeting will take place at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, which is 277 miles away from Uvalde, TX, where 19 young kids and two teachers were slaughtered on May 24.

The 18-year-old gunman had an AR-15 assault rifle and a handgun. He is dead.

Trump’s appearance will be the sixth time that he has addressed the NRA.

Embattled NRA head Wayne LaPierre has praised the ex-president for championing the right to keep and bear arms.

The ex-president also came through for the NRA during the COVID-19 lockdown by declaring firearms and ammunition retailers “critical infrastructure,” which encouraged states to reopen gun stores that had been forcibly closed.

During his May 24 address to the nation, president Joe Biden asked how much longer will America be willing to live with the carnage resulting from mass shootings.

“We have to ask, when in God’s name are we going to stand up to the gun lobby,” said Biden.

Trump, who has trotted out the nonsensical “arming teachers” strategy as the solution to solving the school shootings pandemic, undoubtedly will offer his “thoughts and prayers” to the victims and family members of the Robb Elementary School killings.

But the Good Lord has been overwhelmed with prayers from anguished Americans wracked with pain over the untimely deaths of their children, who were sent off to what are supposed to be safe spaces: schools.

There have been 14 mass shootings at US schools and colleges since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999 that left 13 dead, according to the Associated Press.

A total of 169 people died and scores of others were injured at murder scenes such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Santa Fe High School, Red Lake High School, Virginia Tech, Northern Illinois University, West Nickel Mines Amish School and Sandy Hook Elementary School.

The time of thoughts and prayers is long past. Action by Republicans is required to stop the mayhem.

As Biden said, show some spine.

Texas governor Greg Abbott and senator Ted Cruz also will speak at the NRA event.

Cruz has offered up his own thoughts and prayers for the Robb Elementary School victims.

“Heidi and I are lifting up in prayer the entire Uvalde community during this devastating time and we mourn the lives that were taken by this act of evil. None of us can imagine the anguish the parents in Uvalde are going through. Our hearts go out to them.”

Save your meaningless statement for the next slaughter, Ted. You will just have to replace “Uvalde” with the name of the next massacre site.