Houstonians plan multiple protests at NRA convention in wake of Uvalde shooting

Norma González didn’t plan to be in Houston this weekend. The immigration advocate was going to be in Corpus Christi for a conference with other professionals in her field, to strategize about how they could best work together to serve their community. Instead, González, 26, will be at Discovery Green on Friday protesting the National Rifle Association’s upcoming convention. Headlining the event are former President Donald Trump, Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz and other high-ranking Texas Republicans who plan to speak in support of gun owners’ rights just three days after a gunman armed with an AR-15 killed 19 children and two adults in Uvalde. She’ll be thinking of her cousins who are teachers in San Antonio and Harlingen, and her nieces and nephews who go to school every day unsure of what they’ll face.

“Its really important that I stand with my city because every time this happens it’s closer and closer to home, and you never know when it’ll be somebody you know,” González said, after tweeting out a list of protests scheduled in hopes she could encourage others to join her. Friday’s protest at noon on Discovery Green — across from the George R. Brown Convention Center where the NRA Convention will be held — is being organized by Black Lives Matter Houston, Indivisible Houston, Moms Demand Action and the Harris County Democratic Party. Ashton Woods, co-founder of Black Lives Matter Houston, said that the organizers will make space for survivors of gun violence to speak to the supporters and convention attendees. He said elected officials will likely make remarks as well. He also hopes to turn the event into a “mass voter registration event.” “There’s some audacity to be having that convention in the City of Houston, and it’s a slap in the face to Texans not just because of what happened (Monday) but because once upon a time, Harris County was deeply conservative, and that’s not the case anymore,” Woods said.