Indy hosts NRA Convention

People from across the nation visited the Indiana Convention Center for NRA events and exhibits

By Mia Lehmkuhl & Anika Yoder OPINION EDITOR & FEATURE EDITOR

Indianapolis hosted the National Rifle Association convention for the third year in a row April 14-16. The annual conference,held at the Indiana Convention Center in downtown Indianapolis, drew an NRA-estimated attendance of more than 77,000 people, according to the Indianapolis Star. Speakers at the convention’s leadership forum on April 14 included former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Indiana Republican Sen. Mike Braun, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, Ohio Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, according to the NRA-ILA Leadership Forum website. Video messages from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and South Carolina Republican Sen.Tim Scott also were shown at the forum. Indianapolis likes to build itself as a convention-friendly city, according to University of Indianapolis Associate Professor of Political Science Greg Shufeldt, and 2023 is the last year Indianapolis is under contractual obligation to host the NRA’s convention. Shufeldt said that with Indiana being considered a Republican state, and with most people likely being supporters of the Second Amendment, Indianapolis would be a favorable place to hold the convention.

Shufeldt said the NRA’s featuring of speakers at the leadership forum such as former President Trump and former Vice President Pence highlights the importance of the NRA in the Republican party.

“As we think about the 2024 Republican primary, people might try to distinguish themselves between being more conservative or moderate,” Shufeldt said. “But every Republican that's running for president is going to be there. There's not a Republican [politician] that is speaking out against gun rights.” (The New York Times stated in an article that, “Polls show that the overwhelming majority of Americans support some restrictions on firearms, but G.O.P. lawmakers fear they would pay a steep political price for embracing them.”) the end of the first day, according to the NRA convention schedule. Saturday, the second day of the convention, included more seminars and workshops, according to the schedule, as well as exhibit halls where different businesses showcased their products. The convention concluded on Sunday with a National Prayer Breakfast and more workshops and seminars. With high-profile speakers comes high-security precautions. The U.S. Secret Service required that all media representatives attending the NRA ILA Leadership Forum leave their equipment in Exhibit Hall A for a security sweep before going through additional security measures to regain access. The line to see the speakers spanned down the convention center, and soon the room was filled with thousands of NRA members and media representatives.

Gov. Eric Holcomb - IN

Holcomb discussed the State of Indiana's infrastructure, state tax cuts through budgeting formulas and ways in which Indiana is a prominent supporter of the Second Amendment. Indiana hosts multiple outdoor recreational opportunities, Holcomb said, as well as the NRA National Marksmanship Competition. In 2024, Holcomb said, Indiana will host the World University Shooting Sport Championship.

Sen. Mike Braun - IN life, Pence said, and last June they ruled to eliminate the license requirement to carry concealed weapons in New York in the Bruen Decision. Under the current White House administration, attacks through gun violence are the products of a lack of crime control, Pence said, and that gun confiscation endangers lives. Shootings in the U.S. have resulted from a decline in mental health and a reduction in institutionalizing the mentally ill, Pence said.He said placing police resource officers in every public and private space in America would put a stop to the violence.

Braun mentioned the Greenwood Park Mall shooting in Greenwood, Ind. last July 17, and the patron who shot the attacker while concealed carrying his firearm. The Biden-Harris Administration’s enacting a nationwide vaccination mandate for businesses down to 100 employees was an overreach, Braun said, that damaged the country during the pandemic. He said the federal government is trampling on the Constitution and attempting to replace the nuclear family, which he aims to work against.

Former President Donald Trump

Trump said that releasing criminals and abolishing borders are part of the Biden-Harris Administration's agenda, and interference is part of what the Democrats want for the upcoming election. Trump showed the audience the current Republican presidential candidate polls in different states (which were shown to be in his favor, according to InteractivePolls’ Twitter) and discussed his signing of the “Right to Try”law, which allows terminally ill patients to access experimental drugs. Three Supreme Court justices were confirmed under the Trump-Pence Administration,as were 300 federal judges, Trump said. He said Biden’s handling of classified documents, as well as 1,850 boxes of unaccounted for documents in Chinatown, revealed Biden obtained millions of dollars from China. Trump said his plans for office include restoring safety to the nation from gang violence and increasing security in schools. He said the shooting that occurred in Nashville, Tenn., on March 27 was a result of the reduction in school security and a mental health, cultural, social and spiritual problem that could be offset by arming school teachers."

Part of his administration’s plan to address mental health in the country,Trump said, is to direct the FDA to create an independent, outside panel to examine transgender hormone therapy and whether its effects upon increases in depression,aggression and violence. Trump also said that genetically engineered cannabis and other narcotics are causing psychotic breaks. In closing, Trump discussed the damage done by the Biden-Harris Administration, which he said has caused the nation to decline, and how in 2024 the Trump Administration will make the country great again.

China and Taiwan during his remarks, and named Chinese leader Xi Jinping directly to support his position.

“If you want to stop Xi Jinping from invading Taiwan, put a gun in every Taiwanese household and have them defend themselves,” Ramaswamy said during his remarks. “Let’s see what Xi Jinping does then. That’s what it means to be an actual American.”

Paul Rak, a marketing consultant and lifetime NRA member, attended the convention with his wife and shed some light on why he attended the convention.

“I’ve been a member for probably 20 to 30 years,” Rak said, “and really, [we came] because it was in the area.We’re from Illinois and just hadn’t been able to come out in a number of years. So I just thought it would be interesting. And [my wife] really wanted to see Trump.”

Rak said that he believes gun owners have a right to self-defense and that he felt comfortable at the NRA convention because he was around people who know what they are doing. He also mentioned the Greenwood Park Mall shooting that occurred this past July.

“... It [comes] back to some people doing violence and so forth,” Rak said. “[In] Indiana, I think…, sometime within the last year, there was a shooting in a mall. And guns were not supposed to be there. But there was a good guy with a gun who stopped the perpetrator.” to carry firearms.

“We think you have to have a permit,” Worthington said. “You have to have a permit to drive a car. . . . You can't lease a car at 25, [but] you can buy an AR-15 at 18. And you think that makes sense?”

McQuinn said what brought her to the convention center was that she was offended by the Indiana General Assembly being used as a platform to publicize the NRA, when the assembly passed a special resolution to honor the NRA and its Executive Vice President and CEO Wayne LaPierre.

“It's a poorly run organization," McQuinn said. "And to think that our statehouse, dominated by the Republican supermajority, would do that, I think, is unconscionable.”

Shufeldt said that having the convention in Indianapolis provided an opportunity for students who might not like Indianapolis' hosting the NRA, in light of recent shootings,to take part in interest groups and organizations opposed to the association. He said that for those who support the NRA and the Second Amendment, the convention was likely a good sign and an opportunity to get involved and learn more about the organization.

Care from Page 1

The convention began Friday, April 14, with the NRA Foundation's Annual National Firearms Law Seminar, and continued through the NRA Institute for Legislative Action Leadership Forum at this law is just the beginning of more laws against gender-affirming care, and some lawmakers' goal is to eventually ban all types of transition at any age.

According to Ziff, it is very rare that minors receive irreversible procedures. Many interventions take place before any procedures can happen. Children and young adults should not be dismissed so easily when it comes to making these decisions, she said.

“There's also this kind of assumption that kids are making choices that they won't be able to change,” Ziff said. “And that's not quite the case. And even if it were the case, let's just say, I don't know that we should dismiss children or young adults so easily. We tend to clump all kids together. What an eight-year-old decides, I think, is drastically different than what a 12-year-old decides than what a 16-year-old decides, as far as understanding long-term consequences and bigger picture issues. To even just kind of wave our wand and let make this blanket idea that somehow 18 is this magical dividing line between where you can decide something about your body versus can't… I don't know, that he [Holcomb] gets to make that decision for youth, but also for families. If a parent has felt that their kid is aware and rational, and they've seen the doctors and they've seen the psychiatrist

Former Vice President Mike Pence Pence spoke about the Trump-Pence administration’s four years in office and about the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. A conservative majority on the Supreme Court gave America the opportunity for the right to and the psychologist and the other practitioners, I don't know why that decision doesn't get to get made in that setting.”

UIndy can support trans students by being vocal, Ziff said. It is important that trans students see the community standing up for them and feel that campus is a safe place. She encourages students to get involved by reaching out to state representatives and congresspeople.

Conn said that the entire trans community needs support, not only right now, but always. He said that he wants people to understand that genderaffirming medical care saved his life and that it’s a life-saving thing for trans youth to receive. He said trans people do not just wake up one day and decide to get big surgeries; it is a thought process and a big decision.

“Even if this wasn't going on, we still need it [support]; we're still a community that gets pushed down,” Conn said.

“And we're not always heard, because people always say, ‘it's a phase’ or ‘you'll change your mind in a couple months’ or something like that. But it's not something that will change. It's just who we are. I think that a lot of people just need to realize that we're not going through a phase. We were just born in the wrong body, we were born in a way that we didn't want to be, but we're trying to make

Overall, many of the speakers highlighted similar aspects in their platforms, including a heavy emphasis on mental health crises across the country and the need for American citizens to bear arms in order for other rights listed in the U.S. Constitution to be enforced. Ramaswamy mentioned tensions between the changes to be who we want to be. So having people around us, letting us know that who we are is okay and we shouldn't be ashamed of it, that would mean everything. That would be great.”

On April 18, the Office of Inclusion and Equity sent out a campus-wide email regarding recent LGBTQ legislation in Indiana.

“As we watch the progress of LGBTQIA+ legislation within the Indiana State House and across our country, we wish to remind the campus community of the things that are most important to us, which includes diversity, equity, and inclusion,” the OIE’s email said. “All members of our community are supported and accepted. LGBTQIA+ students belong at UIndy and in Indiana. Inclusion and equity are core components of the educational mission at the University of Indianapolis, and we strive to uphold these values by instilling the structures and processes needed to better meet academic, cultural and social needs of all entering the educational environment. All students are welcomed and encouraged to engage with us authentically, and to have conversations with each other that are thoughtful, considerate, and kind.”

Resources for the LGBTQ community at UIndy can be found on the university’s website.

Protesters during the conference were present across from the convention center. Retirees Kerry Worthington and Elizabeth McQuinn were among the protesters. Worthington said that what brought him to the convention was his anti-AR-15 beliefs and opinion that people should have permits

Court from Page 1

more than [on] the outside looking in was really cool.”

Senior political science student and 2022-2023 President of UIndy Democrats Priscilla Garcia—who also plans to attend the IU McKinney School of Law after graduation—served as a building escort to Chief Justice Loretta Rush and was able to converse with her one-on-one.

“She is such a respectable woman and I admire her so much, and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to meet her and to meet all of the justices…,” Garcia said.

Tadevich and Garcia both thought the supreme court’s visit to UIndy was a noteworthy, real-life experience with the judicial branch.

“I thought it was incredible,”Tadevich said.“...It was really cool to see real lawyers in a real time case that's not like a TV drama.”

“I thought it was such a unique experience that I think I was very fortunate to be able to witness that,” Garcia said. “And I think a lot of other students can agree to that, that it was such an impactful visit, for especially someone like me, who is aspiring to go to law school, to be able to kind of see their session in action and seeing how the lawyers interact with one another… And so I think overall, the visit was very amazing and such a great honor

“Gun laws change pretty quickly,” Shufeldt said.“And ...not all of our students are Hoosier residents. I would encourage students to be mindful of what gun laws are in their home state, realizing that they change from state to state.So if you do carry a firearm, be mindful of that if you're going back and forth.Likewise,if you don't like the laws in your home state...state governments have some power to do something about it and other state governments might be more responsive than ours.” and privilege for the students.”

Tadevich said the supreme court was supposed to visit UIndy’s campus in 2020 by invitation of political science professor Laura Wilson, but the COVID-19 pandemic pushed the event back.

“...I want to say Chief Justice Loretta Rush was here in 2018 and visited Dr. [professor] Wilson's classes and everything,”Tadevich said.“And then they had planned to hear a case on campus… So in April of 2020, they were supposed to be here with the high schools coming to us. But obviously COVID[-19] hit and everything fell apart.”

The IN Supreme Court’s visit to UIndy was only the 49th time they have traveled outside the State House to hear oral arguments since 1994, according to Rush.

“I think having that accessibility and that transparency is really really cool,” Tadevich said. “I understand logistically that [hearing traveling arguments has] a lot of moving parts [and] that's not a super sustainable way to do it. But my honors project was about public opinion and the Supreme Court, and seeing that dynamic. So it’s really cool to be able to see [how] they're interacting with the public, but they're not accounting for what the public may or may not want. It was really cool to see that.”

The recording of the hearing at UIndy’s campus can be found at Courts.IN.gov.