The Latest on the annual meeting in Dallas of the National Rifle Association (all times local):
DALLAS (AP) — The Latest on the annual meeting in Dallas of the National Rifle Association (all times local):
3:45 p.m.
Elected officials from Texas have joined President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence in speaking to National Rifle Association members at the group’s annual meeting.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott told the crowd Friday afternoon that the answer to gun violence is to strengthen gun rights under the Constitution’s Second Amendment.
He also talked about Stephen Willeford, who grabbed his rifle and ran across the street to open fire on the gunman who slaughtered more than two dozen people in a church in the small town of Sutherland Springs in November. The gunman shot and killed 25 people at the church. Authorities have put the official toll at 26, because one of the victims was pregnant.
Willeford is an NRA member who has served as an instructor. He was honored by the NRA earlier Friday. After he exchanged gunfire with 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley, Willeford jumped in a man’s pickup truck and they pursued him. Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Abbott says «because (Willeford) had a gun, he saved lives.»
U. S. Sen. John Cornyn also cited Willeford’s actions that day. He says, «Guns can save lives, plain and simple.»
___
3 p.m.
Tara Dixon Engel has made her first trip to a National Rifle Association annual meeting, traveling to Dallas from Florida.
The 56-year-old from Merritt Island, Florida, is author of a handgun guide for women and director of strategic development for the American Police Hall of Fame and Museum in Titusville, Florida.
She said she wanted to come to get a feel for the scope of the convention and «to be among like-minded people.»
She says the NRA is necessary to protect the Constitution’s Second Amendment. She says if gun rights go away, «so does freedom of the press, so does freedom of assembly, so does freedom of religion.»
An estimated 70,000 people are expected to attend the convention that started Friday in Dallas.
___
1:35 p.m.
Vice President Mike Pence is offering a vigorous defense of gun rights an address to the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Dallas.
Pence is pointing to work by President Donald Trump’s administration work to address school security and support for changes to the background check system, as well as arming teachers.
The vice president says «the quickest way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.»
He is faulting media outlets for not telling «the whole story about firearms in America» and the role of «firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens» making communities safer.
Pence was speaking ahead of President Donald Trump’s address to the NRA.
___
1:20 p.m.
The Texas man who grabbed his rifle and ran barefoot across the street to open fire on a gunman who slaughtered more than two dozen people in a church in the small town of Sutherland Springs has been honored at the annual National Rifle Association meeting.
Stephen Willeford told those gathered for the group’s leadership forum in Dallas on Friday, «I took care of my community on that day and I’d do it again.»
Willeford was at his home on a Sunday in November when his daughter alerted him that she’d heard gunfire at the First Baptist Church nearby. Willeford has said he immediately retrieved his rifle from his weapon safe. Running across the street to the church, he saw 26-year-old Devin Patrick Kelley and exchanged gunfire.
As Kelley sped away, Willeford ran to a pickup truck stopped in an intersection, jumped in and the two called 911 and pursued Kelley.
Kelley died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
___
1 p.m.
Those attending the National Rifle Association say it’s a chance for them to talk to like-minded people and learn about new products.
Seventy-one-year-old Lyndie Goggans of Paris, Tennessee, said Friday morning that she and her husband have been coming to the annual meetings for about 15 years. Goggans says she attends the meetings to see what new guns are available and visit with friends who also attend.
An estimated 70,000 people are expected to attend the convention that started Friday in Dallas.
Christopher Daniel of Columbus, Ohio, came to the meeting with his brother. Both men served in the military. Daniel teaches middle school.
Daniel, who is black, said there may be a misconception that the NRA is only for older white men. Daniel says, «It’s for everyone who believes in their constitutional rights.»
President Donald Trump is among those scheduled to speak at the event Friday afternoon.
___
12:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump says the National Rifle Association is a «great organization that loves this country.»
Trump spoke to reporters Friday aboard Air Force One as he flew to Dallas to address the organization’s annual convention for the fourth consecutive time.
Trump’s appearance comes after he temporarily strayed from NRA dogma opposing stronger gun control after the deadly school shooting in Parkland, Florida, earlier this year — only to return to the fold.
Trump also said he has a «record crowd» attending the convention. The forum where he is speaking is sold out, with a capacity of about 8,000 people.
The NRA won’t have exact figures on how many people attend the convention until later. Spokesman Jason Brown says its estimate of more than 70,000 people is based on a variety of factors. The record is 86,000 in Houston in 2013.
The event is also drawing protests, including by those who lost loved ones to gun violence.
___
11:45 a.m.
For some people attending the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, President Donald Trump is the main draw.
Jesse and Patricia Hopper, both wearing Make America Great Again hats, traveled from a small town in West Texas to attend the NRA meeting Friday.
The Hoppers, who live in Ballinger, said Friday morning that they became NRA members so they could attend the meeting, their first, and see Trump. Jesse Hopper says he agrees with NRA policies.
Sixty-five-year-old Patricia Hopper, who was wearing a T-shirt with Trump’s face on it, said she’d been wanting to see the president «ever since we voted for him» and she added that her husband «likes guns.
