Trump, Pence to address National Rifle Association convention

The National Rifle Association meets this weekend in Indianapolis for its annual convention against a backdrop of mass shootings in the country.

Organizers of the 152nd annual meeting say they expect 70,000 NRA members to attend the event that begins Friday and lasts through Sunday at the Indiana Convention Center, where 14 acres of guns and gear will be on display and for sale.

Former US president Donald Trump and former vice-president Mike Pence are scheduled to appear in person Friday.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, a potential 2024 GOP contender, is traveling to New Hampshire, the site of the first-in-the-nation primary, and will send a video message.

New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu, who is seen by many in his Republican Party as a moderate, also will address the convention.

"New Hampshire is one of the safest states in the country with some of the best firearms laws and home to incredible companies," Sununu said in a statement to NBC News. "I look forward to sharing our New Hampshire success and how it can be replicated across this country with NRA members this weekend.''

The city's police department is bracing for protests at the event. Officials have designated an area across the street from the convention center as the preferred place for demonstrations.

"Number one, it upholds their constitutional rights, but it also offers them a safe space to demonstrate, and it allows those that are visiting the convention and those that are just going about their day downtown to have those mutually respective boundaries," said Josh Barker, deputy chief of operations with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD).

"Rest assured, you will see an increased presence of uniformed officers in and around parking garages, surface lots, the convention center, the entertainment venues and restaurants throughout the city this weekend to ensure that everybody has a safe time," he said.

Barker said that more people are expected to openly carry firearms in Indianapolis this weekend, which comes a little more than a year after Indiana lawmakers eliminated licensing requirements to carry handguns in the state. Barker encouraged gun owners to follow common sense safety measures.

The convention takes place as the country is dealing with a series of recent mass shootings.

A gunman opened fire at a bank in downtown Louisville, Kentucky, on Monday, killing five people — including a close friend of Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear — and wounding nine others. The gunman used an AR-15 style rifle that he purchased legally a week ago, police said, which he had purchased legally three days before.

On March 27, a heavily armed former student shot through a locked school door before killing three children and three staff members at a private Christian campus in Nashville, Tennessee, before being killed by responding officers.

Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee, told NBC News that "everyone's going to flock to the NRA gathering and pledge their fealty. There will be thoughts and prayers for the dead and dying, but nothing will change."

Agencies contributed to this story.

aiheping@chinadailyusa.com