2024 Republicans take to annual NRA conference amid mass shooting epidemic

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The growing crowd of Republicans seeking their party's 2024 presidential nomination are seeking to demonstrate their pro-gun bona fides on Friday, addressing an annual gun rights conference amid spiraling US mass shootings.

The hopefuls include former President Donald Trump, his number two-turned-political opponent Mike Pence, Trump's former UN envoy Nikki Haley, and his former political ally Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Other candidate prospects who are addressing the National Rifle Association's (NRA) 2023 conference in Indiana include South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.

Ramaswamy, Trump and Haley are the only officially announced candidates so far, but others have set the stage for imminent announcement.

Hutchinson drew a mixed response from the crowd when he took a dig at Trump, saying "we don't need a re-run of 2020" when Trump lost the election to President Joe Biden by over 7 million votes.

"Let's bring new leadership. Let's win in 2024 to protect our liberties, to protect our border, to protect the sovereignty of the United States, and that America can once again lead," he said during the NRA's "leadership forum," drawing some heckles before applause broke out.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu's attempts to undercut Trump were met with even less enthusiasm.

"I get nervous about 2024. If we don't have those Independents. If we don't have those folks back on the team, those disenfranchised voters, it's not going to happen for us. We can yell and scream all we want, but we want winners, we want winners for tomorrow," he said to silence.

The large gathering comes as the US continues to face repeated violence from mass shootings that have sent shockwaves through communities countrywide as shooters target people across all walks of life, from school children to the elderly and everyone in between.

There have already been at least 146 mass shootings this year, according to a tally from the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit that shoots gun-related violence in the US.

Addressing the NRA, Pence said the US does not "need gun control," saying those who would like to implement restrictions on gun possession are using "tired arguments" to make their case.

"We need crime control. We don't need lectures about the liberties of law-abiding citizens. We need solutions to protect our kids," Pence said, later calling for armed guards to be posted in schools nationwide, and urging mass shooters to be executed "in months, not years."

While Pence drew raucous applause for the suggestion, he was met with a chorus of boos when he took the stage, responding: "I love you, too."