Demonstrators on both sides of the gun debate flocked downtown Saturday, drawn by the National Rifle Association’s annual conference. Several…
Demonstrators on both sides of the gun debate flocked downtown Saturday, drawn by the National Rifle Association’s annual conference.
Several speakers calling for gun control took the mic at the biggest protest, outside Dallas City Hall, urging action in response to a series of mass shootings from Newtown, Conn., to Las Vegas to Parkland, Fla.
«We refuse to be collateral damage for gun industry profits,» said Tommy Murray of the Junior Newtown Action Alliance.
Across the street, gun rights activists, many of them carrying weapons, offered a counterpoint amid fluttering «Come and Take It» banners.
«We are not evil. The blood is not on our hands,» gun owner Jason Van Dyke said. «They are putting the actions of very few people on all gun owners, and that’s wrong.»
Also visiting Dallas were Manuel and Patricia Oliver, who lost their son Joaquin in the Feb. 14 massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
He invited President Donald Trump, who addressed NRA members on Friday, to come to Parkland, Fla., to visit their home.
«Spend five minutes of your time in Joaquin’s empty room,» Manual Oliver told the crowd.