The 145th NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits opened Friday in Louisville, Ky. Tens of thousands of NRA members will attend, generating a boon of more than $50 million to the regional economy. Louisville can also expect another benefit: Previous NRA conventions in Indianapolis and Nashville precipitated a drop in violent crime rates for that weekend.
However, that’s not enough for Kentucky state Democratic Congressman John Yarmuth, who urged followers to disrupt the event:
“I hope that, during (Trump’s) appearance in Louisville, there will be an enormous outpouring of opposition, both to the NRA and to his brand of politics,” he said. “The NRA is totally out of touch with the attitudes of the vast majority of American people about common-sense approaches to gun violence, including universal background checks and closing the gun show loophole, among others."
Organizers expect nearly 80,000 members to attend this year’s NRA convention, the bulk of whom seemed quite in sync with their NRA on Friday.
