Next week, the National Rifle Association's annual convention is scheduled for Houston.
The organization announced Tuesday that it had cancelled the convention due to COVID-19 concerns.
Hospitalizations and COVID-19 cases have been on the rise in Harris County, which also includes Houston.
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Over COVID-19 concerns, the National Rifle Association cancelled its annual meeting.
The NRA's number one priority is to ensure the well-being and health of its members, staff, sponsors, donors, and supporters. The NRA Annual Meeting patrons will be returning home to their family, friends and coworkers from across the country so any virus-related effects could have wider implications," the organization stated in a Tuesday statement. These are some of the reasons we cancelled our 2021 event.
Annual conventions of the NRA attract thousands of people. The 2018 Dallas convention attracted more than 87,000 attendees.
The convention was to be held at the George R. Brown Convention Center, September 3-5, Houston. This is Houston where COVID-19 has been increasing and hospitals are overcrowded.
Houston is located in Harris County. The county has reported a 21% rate of test positivity over the past two week, according to county data. On Tuesday, Houston had more than 51,000 active cases. The county has issued a highest-level threat warning and instructed those who are not vaccinated to stay at home for necessities and to wear masks indoors.
KTRK reported Monday that three Houston emergency rooms had to close due to an excessive number of COVID-19 hospitalizations.
The Daily Beast reported previously that several gun manufacturers had pulled out of conference due to COVID-19 concerns. According to sources, Benelli USA, Browning, FN Herstal, Kimber Manufacturing, Savage Arms, Smith & Wesson, Springfield Armory, Sig Sauer, Sturm, Ruger & Company were among the companies that had withdrawn. Insider did not receive any response to its email requests for comment.
Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, a gun violence prevention group, was critical of the NRA's claim that it is cancelling safety concerns and promoting guns.
Watts tweeted, "The @NRA claims that it has analyzed data and spoken with elected officials and local doctors about the dangers from the pandemic here in Texas. But it completely ignored this exact process two months ago when it pushed permitless Carry through the state legislature."
She said that it was "probably the first time that the @NRA has placed public safety and health before profit, so that's that."
Insider did not reach out to the NRA for comment at the time this article was published.
