Trump: 'The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens'

As one of the featured speakers at the just-concluded National Rifle Association (NRA) annual meeting in Houston, former President Donald J. Trump emphasized the need to protect gun rights, per a report from The Associated Press (AP), Houston CBS affiliate KHOU reported. 

Trump, who was president from 2017 to 2021, insinuated that law-abiding citizens shouldn't have their freedoms restricted. 

“The existence of evil in our world is not a reason to disarm law-abiding citizens,” he said, according to the report. “The existence of evil is one of the very best reasons to arm law-abiding citizens."

The NRA convention was held a few days after more than a dozen students and two teachers at Uvalde's Robb Elementary School lost their lives in a mass shooting last Tuesday (May 24), Houston Daily reported.

The alleged shooter, an 18-year-old Uvalde resident named Salvador Ramos, also died, fatally shot by law enforcement who responded to the scene.

The convention proceeded as scheduled because it "[had] been on the books for more than two years," Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in a KHOU report, Houston Daily reported.

According to the AP, KHOU reported, students who were in the same classroom as the gunman repeatedly called 911 in vain pleading for help.

Officers reportedly waited nearly an hour in the hall before responding.

The meeting was the first held by the NRA since before the COVID-19 pandemic began, per the report.

Other speakers at the convention included U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX).

“Tragedies like the event of this week are a mirror forcing us to ask hard questions, demanding that we see where our culture is failing," the junior senator said, per the AP. “We must not react to evil and tragedy by abandoning the Constitution or infringing on the rights of our law-abiding citizens."

Gov. Greg Abbott didn't attend the meeting as he was assessing the situation in Uvalde, but attendees watched a pre-recorded video from him.

"We grieve and mourn with these families. The loss of their child is a tragedy that no parent should ever have to endure," Abbott said, KHOU reported. "The law teaches us that every child is a precious gift. And evil stole those gifts from their parents on Tuesday."

The governor, a Republican, further asserted in his message that despite the thousands of laws on the books, neither could've prevented the events in Uvalde, according to the station.

"There are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning or using of firearms," Abbott said. "Laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people in peaceful communities."

According to KHOU, the governor explained that a law prohibiting firearms on school grounds didn't stop the Uvalde shooter.