NRA cancels Houston

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Aguila Blanca

Staff
Just received the following from the NRA:

FAIRFAX, Va Due to concern over the safety of our NRA family and community, we regret to inform you that we have decided to cancel the 2021 Annual Meeting & Exhibits. This cancellation applies to all events and meetings that were scheduled in Houston. We will provide future notification regarding a rescheduled date for the annual Meeting of Members.

We make this difficult decision after analyzing relevant data regarding COVID-19 in Harris County, Texas. We also consulted with medical professionals, local officials, major sponsors & exhibitors, and many NRA members before arriving at this decision. The NRA Annual Meeting welcomes tens of thousands of people, and involves many events, meetings, and social gatherings. Among the highlights of our annual meeting are acres of exhibit space featuring the latest and greatest firearms, the display of countless accessories, and the offering of adventures and group gatherings that many travel hundreds, and some even thousands, of miles to experience. We realize that it would prove difficult, if not impossible, to offer the full guest experience that our NRA members deserve.

The NRA's top priority is ensuring the health and well-being of our members, staff, sponsors, and supporters. We are mindful that NRA Annual Meeting patrons will return home to family, friends and co-workers from all over the country, so any impacts from the virus could have broader implications. Those are among the reasons why we decided to cancel our 2021 event.

We would like to thank our members, attendees, exhibitors, and staff for their understanding and support. We are grateful for the many contributions of the George R. Brown Convention Center, state and local officials, community organizers, area hotels, and countless event venues across Houston. We receive enormous support from Houston and the State of Texas, and we hope to return to the Bayou City for a full annual meeting experience.

The NRA looks forward to a Celebration of Freedom in Louisville in May 2022. In the meantime, we will support many other NRA local events and smaller gatherings, in a manner that is protective of our members and celebrates our Second Amendment freedom.

We wish continued health and safety to our entire NRA family.
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4V50 Gary

Staff
Some think it's a combination of the internal discord within the NRA arising from all the legal issues and exhibitors' abandonment of the convention.
 
5

5whiskey

New member
Some think it's a combination of the internal discord within the NRA arising from all the legal issues and exhibitors' abandonment of the convention.
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Covid would be an awful convenient excuse scrap an event that you suspect will underperform significantly enough to cause embarrassment to the organization. Just saying.
 
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Mainah

New member
Covid would be an awful convenient excuse scrap an event that you suspect will underperform significantly enough to cause embarrassment to the organization. Just saying.
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Yes, and also quite a departure from the beyond gun politics that the NRA has embraced recently. But on the other hand it could be a responsible decision. Who knows?
 
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Carl the Floor Walker

Moderator
I am sorry to hear the convention was cancelled. I choose to not listen to internet rumors. I have no love for WP, but I do for the NRA. I will NEVER under any circumstances side with L. James. She is much more of a enemy to 2A than WP and destruction of the NRA is her main goal.
I do look forward to the next NRA Rally in Richmond Va. We have had some great one's in the past like 2020.. However last year was tough. We have a treacherous anti NRA, Anti 2A Gov that did every possible to stop us. We have more serious issue with him than we do WP.:mad:
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
According to The Truth About Guns, many of the largest exhibitors pulled out.

https://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/t...-of-the-largest-industry-exhibitors-pull-out/

Most of the largest American gun makers have taken steps to drop out, from informing the NRA that they won’t be attending to cancelling travel plans. These companies include Benelli USA, Browning, FN Herstal, Kimber Manufacturing, Savage Arms, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, Sig Sauer, and Sturm, Ruger & Company, according to people with knowledge of internal communications at these companies. …
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TTAG has heard about the accumulating number of cancellations for a couple of weeks now as some large industry names told us they’ve decided it just wasn’t worth the risk. However, we’ve also heard that there are other considerations behind the decisions of a number of companies that won’t be there.

We’ve been told by a not insignificant number of exhibitors that they didn’t want to support the NRA with a clearly compromised Wayne LaPierre still leading the association. After the allegations made by the New York Attorney General along with the admissions made in testimony during the NRA’s failed bankruptcy bid, NRA leadership has — allegedly — engaged in years of egregious self-dealing, corrupt practices, and mismanagement at the expense of the association’s membership.
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Carl the Floor Walker

Moderator
Lol, I love all the facts by CNN, I mean The Daily Beast? Seriously? I will give them credit they did at least say "As a result, a lot of big name exhibitors have decided they don’t want to spend a weekend inside a packed hall with tens of thousands of convention goers, exposing their people to the virus and possibly bringing it back to their offices and production facilities."

Maybe, just a possibility Texas has reasons to be more concerned now with the Virus. I wonder what that might be?
 
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Mainah

New member
According to The Truth About Guns, many of the largest exhibitors pulled out.
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I've done some convention planning. That is the kiss of death.

As has been clearly articulated here the NRA has alienated many of their members. Now it appears they're losing their corporate sponsorship. And yet Wayne is still in charge. He must know where a lot of bodies are buried.
 
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Carl the Floor Walker

Moderator
So just to be accurate here, you are saying that during the Covid Virus years, that any organization that had a sponsor and the vendors pulled out is the kiss of death to that sponsor. Ok, Since you have experience, could you give us a few examples from the past two years where this did happen?
So the Shot Show cancelled in 2021 was because why? I guess that must have been because the NRA was going to be there. I find that hard to believe.
A huge convention like this has people coming from all over the world. Having to fly to get there would be bad enough.

Perhaps the vendors should speak up for themselves. If they believe they want to dump the NRA then they should say so. I think it would be more important and honest to hear it from them rather than some half baked liberal rag.


NSSF Announces 2021 SHOT Show Cancellation

Due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases throughout the world, NSSF, the firearm industry trade association, today makes the difficult announcement that the ...
 
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44 AMP

Staff
Vendors pulling out over concern of COVID risk is the kiss of death to the show, not to the group hosting the show.

No question in my mind that if even a single covid case could be linked to the show the media would dub it a "Super Spreader Event" and rail against the heartless and thoughtless NRA and gun industry for putting us all at increased risk.

I can also understand the industry wanting to distance themselves from LaPierre and using covid concerns as their "official" reason.
 
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Carl the Floor Walker

Moderator
One thing WP cannot be blamed for is the ammo shortage or the astronomical gun sales. Yes, Blm and Antif riots, etc, but the Covid Virus hurt the industry. And it did shut down staff and production of Ammunitions. And it is going to get worse.
WP will eventually go down, he may just step down, die, or maybe even go to jail. But there will always be those that hate the NRA. Always have been and always will be. And it is sad to see so much hate speech for WP when we have so many more individuals out there that are trying to destroy the NRA and the 2A amendments. Not to mention the total chaos going on throughout the US and the world.
At present I believe the NRA will be gone in the Near Future. And so will our 2A rights. Once the NRA goes you can bet it is over for all. There are plenty of L. James in the US right now. They will not rest until they get the whole pie. And as bad as WP is, and he is bad, I would rather die than side with L.James. That will never happen.
 
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Mainah

New member
The fear of being labeled as a super spreader event has failed to cancel plenty of events. Sturgis comes to mind, they got labeled and just didn't care.

I wonder what stopped them from at least creating a virtual convention.
 
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Mainah

New member
One thing WP cannot be blamed for is the ammo shortage or the astronomical gun sales.
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I agree completely. And that's part of what frustrates me about the current NRA leadership. From what I've read a big part of the spike in sales came from first time gun owners. There are plenty of people out there quietly changing their minds about self-defense, and I wish the NRA was in a position to do more to reach out to them.
 
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Aguila Blanca

Staff
Carl the Floor Walker said:
Perhaps the vendors should speak up for themselves. If they believe they want to dump the NRA then they should say so.
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What makes you think they would speak up and admit they're shunning the NRA when they can conveniently blame it on the COVID-19 pandemic? The NRA has a goodly number of loyal members who want LaPierre gone, and the NRA has a goodly number of members -- like you -- who seem to be willing to tolerate any shenanigans and skullduggery the board and LaPierre want to indulge in. Why would any manufacturer or major vendor who had decided not to fund LaPierre & Co. come out and say that's why they pulled out of the annual meeting -- thereby potentially alienating a couple of million customers or potential customers -- when they can conveniently pull out and blame it on COVID-19?

Carl the Floor Walker said:
WP will eventually go down, he may just step down, die, or maybe even go to jail. But there will always be those that hate the NRA. Always have been and always will be. And it is sad to see so much hate speech for WP when we have so many more individuals out there that are trying to destroy the NRA and the 2A amendments.
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You continue to imply that those of us who point out the ills of the NRA and the cancer that is Wayne LaPierre and the board members who support and cover up fior him are haters of the NRA. You apparently are not capable of understanding that members can be loyal members and still be willing to do what they can to try to clean the house from within. In this post you have finally admitted that LaPierre is bad -- but you still categorize anyone who has said that before and who has called for LaPierre's removal as "NRA haters." News flash: We don't hate the NRA. We hate what LaPierre and his cronies have done to the NRA. There's a difference.

BTW -- for the record, there is only one Second Amendment.
 
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