were being recorded. >> johnson secretaries knew because they were tasked with transcribing many of those conversations. in fact, they were the ones who made sure the conversations were taped, as johnson would signal to them through an open door. >> we also hear blunt talk. >> yes, sir? >> i want a report on the number of people assigned to kennedy the day he died. >> presidential recordings, the c-span now mobile apps or wherever you get your podcast. >> next, the nra leadership forum. speakers included the south

dakota governor, senator ted cruz, and former president donald trump. the session begins with remarks the nra ceo. one 51st annual national rifle association institute of legislative action forum. please welcome your executive vice president and chief executive officer wayne lapierre. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. before we begin today, i want to talk about the people that occurred at robb elementary school in uvalde, texas on tuesday. every nra member and i know every decent american's morning

right now, 21 it beautiful lives ruthlessly and indiscriminately extinguished by a criminal monster, we are witness community and all of america in prayer. nra members are parents we have sons, daughters, and loved ones. these tragedies because gut wrenching, unimaginable pain that too many are being forced to go through right now. it is not right. it should have -- it should never happen again. if we as a nation were capable of legislating people, out of the hearts and minds of criminals who commit these heinous acts, we would have done it a long time ago. we do not agree with president

biden on the second amendment. but we share common ground on this. last week, the president said i am not naïve, i know tragedy will come again. i cannot be forever overcome. it cannot be fully understood either. that there are certain things we can do. nra members no that to be true -- know that to be true, there are certain things we can and must do. where we part ways with the president and many in his party is on the policy question. what we can and should do to prevent the hate filled bile monsters who -- vile monsters who walk among us of committing people, restricting the fundamental human right of law

abiding americans to defend themselves is not the answer. and never has been. each year over one million law-abiding men and women use a firearm to say -- save their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. that is over one million innocent americans every year, who owe their lives and the lives of their loved ones to their second amendment rights. taking away their rights to self-defense is not the answer. but there are certain common sense things we can and we must do. we need to protect our schools. because our children deserve at least more protection, than are banks, stadiums and government buildings. they are -- [applause]

they are our most treasured and precious resource and they deserve safety and protection. that is why the nra launched our school shield program to help promote and fund the necessary security that every school child needs and deserves. that is why we help train school security assessors who play a vital role in improving the security and safety of every child from one they get off the bus in the morning to when the final bell rings at the end of the day. we also need to fully fund our nations police departments and school security resource officer programs. [applause] so that every school has a comprehensive security program tailored specifically to that

school to meet its security needs. that is why we, as nra members, work so hard, to support and train our men and women in law enforcement and the secured profession. we also need to fully fund and fix our nation's broken mental health system. we need to put violent felons in prison where they belong. [applause] and put an and the revolving door -- end of the revolving door justice system that spits criminals back out on the streets and greets kids for the next horrific crime. finally, to quote the late president ronald reagan, we must reject the idea that every

allows broken -- a law is broken, societies guilty rather than the lawbreaker. [applause] it is time to restore the american precept that each and every individual is accountable for his actions. that is why we, the nra, will never ever stop fighting for the right of the innocent and the law-abiding to defend themselves. against the evil criminal element that plagues our society. because we know there can be no freedom, no security, no safety, without the right of the law abiding to bear arms for self-defense. [applause]

as we gather, we know the eyes of the nation, the eyes of history are upon us, that is a good thing. because every american deserves to know the truth about who we are and what we believe. so, please, help me out here. let's give america a real clear view. how many police officers do we have here today? would you please stand up? retired police officers, would you please stand up? [applause] how about any firefighters,

paramedics or first responders? [applause] any active military, please stand and remain standing. [applause] any veterans, please stand and remain standing. [applause] let us recognize you this memorial day weekend. [applause] anyone who works in health care in any way, doctors, nurses, any teachers? [applause] if you work in education, please stand and remain standing. [applause] if you work in manufacturing, construction, please stand up. [applause]

if you work in any trade, maybe a truck driver, plumber or an electrician. [applause] how about stay-at-home moms, who work harder than most people, ever give them credit for? [applause] if you own your own business, stand up. [applause] any professionals accountants executives, law-abiding gun owners, please stand up and be recognized. [applause] we, here today, and millions more like us, are patriotic americans.

the heart and soul of this country. we love our nation. we love our children, grandchildren, friends, and family. that is why we will always value , cherish, and protect, our fundamental human right to defend ourselves, our communities, and our loved ones, with our second amendment right to bear arms. thank you. and god bless all of you. [applause] >> your executive director of the nra institute for legislative action, jason. >> welcome everybody.

welcome to the national rifle association institute for legislative actions leadership forum. as we begin today's program, ladies and gentlemen, please stand, and direct your attention to our flag, as texas'arm citizen, jack leads us in our pledge. >> will you please join me in the pledge? i pledge of allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic, for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> thank you, jack. ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing, as jill

performs are national anthem. ♪

[applause] >> that was awesome, thank you, jill.

as we gather here today on this memorial day weekend, i think it is important that we all take a moment, and reflect on the true meaning of this holiday. i also think it is important that we take a moment to remember the lives that were lost in the horrific tragedy earlier this week in uvalde. please, join me, stand one more time, in a sincere moment of silence and reverence. thank you, all. friends, sadly, as wayne said, we cannot legislate people out of someone's heart. while prayer helps, trust me i

am a huge believer in prayer, we should never, ever underestimate the power of prayer, there are other things we can do at the same time. but condemning the nra and law-abiding gun owners for the evil acts committed by deranged criminals is not one of them. [applause] over the last 10 years, we have called for more funding to secure our schools and help protect our teachers and children. over the last 10 years, we have called for more resources to give teachers and mental health experts the ability to help kids in need. over the last 10 years, we have called for fixing our broken mental health system once and for all. sadly, none of this has been done.

government can somehow find a way to -- huge sums of money for pet project but cannot seem to find money to secure our school and fix our broken mental health system. that is just not right! [applause] we, the nra, we greet for the lost souls. -- grieve for the lost souls. we have heavy hearts during these trying times. we come at the nra, --, at the nra wants something meaningful done to solve the problem not survey political agenda. -- serve a political agenda. [applause] the only thing the 5 million members of the nra do is support and fight for a fundamental human right, the hard-working

moms and dads and sons and daughters at the nra, they are good people. the hard-working moms and dads and sons and daughters at the nra are law-abiding people. we want, and have always wanted, to enact real solutions to be -- the serious problems but those solutions do not come in the form of failed gun control policies that will not make anybody safer. [applause] we will continue to oppose all those of failed policies because they are not the answer. it will only endanger more people. where going to take this message to congress, the voters and ballot boxes all across the country this november. thank you. god bless you. god bless america and god bless

the nra. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately our next speaker, is unable to be with us in person today. please, direct your attention to the screen, for message from texas governor greg abbott. [applause] >> this is governor greg abbott, i want to say welcome to texas to everybody here. i come before you this afternoon, with a very heavy heart. america is grieving with an evil madmen that took the innocent lives of schoolchildren this past tuesday. moments like this tear apart the very fabric of a community. a community, that until tuesday, never thought that a tragedy

like this could ever happen in such a quiet south texas town like uvalde. this is the time of year the children look forward to the end of the school year. the promise of summer adventures. but 19 innocent children will never come home from that last week of school. other children who survived our scarred by what they witnessed -- are scarred by what they witnessed. as texans and americans, we grieve and mourn with these families. the loss of the child is a tragedy the no parent should ever have to endure. as parents, ourselves, we are heartbroken by such a senseless tragedy like this. we urge everyone here today, everyone across the country, to pray for those in uvalde who are impacted by this atrocious act.

the courageous actions of the many teachers and staff at robb elementary school to be applauded. these men and women are heroes for their fearless defense of the children in their charge. the lord teaches us that every child is a precious gift and people stole those gifts from the parents on tuesday. also remember this, there are thousands of laws on the books across the country that limit the owning or using a firearms, laws that have not stopped madmen from carrying out evil acts on innocent people and peaceful communities. in uvalde the gunmen committed a felony under texas law before he even pulled the trigger. it is a felony to possess a firearm on school premises, but

that did not stop him. and, what he did on campus, is capital murder. that is a crime that would have subjected him to the death penalty in texas. well, just as laws did not stop the killer, we will not let his evil acts stop us from uniting the community that he tried to destroy. i have -- i am in uvalde working to heal the brokenhearted. we will bind up the wounds of the people of uvalde and once again restore the luster to a community, known for its warmth, its friendship, and its values. may god bless the people of uvalde and may god bless the great state of texas. [applause]

>> our next speaker, grew up on a farm in a ranch. she said much -- spent much of her time outdoors and learned to hunt at an early age. a tradition, she probably passed down to her three children -- a tradition she passed down to her three children. she knows the second amendment is not about hunting. during her tenure in public service she has worked tirelessly to protect our second amendment right to keep and bear arms and to make sure that our kids are safe. after being elected governor in 2018, the very first bill she signed into law, was constitutional carry. since then, she has only continued to sign more pro-gun legislation into law, making sure the second amendment and freedom remain on infringed. ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to introduce to you the governor of south dakota kristi noem.

[applause] >> good afternoon. thank you so much for that wonderful welcome. it is an honor to be among a group of america loving patriots like all of you. you have guts and you have conviction. it is inspiring to look out on a crowd like this. when i was walking around the hall earlier today i saw families, parents, and grandparents, young women, professionals, teenagers, hunters and sportsmen, members of law enforcement, nra members come from every single walk of life, every race, ever agreed and i am proud to be -- every

creed and i'm proud to be in nra member and stand before you. [applause] america is struggling right now. there are those who want to change our find a show late -- way of life -- foundational way of life and there are those who value the gift we were given of the founders of this great republic. the test of time has proven the greatest experiment in u.s. history called the united states of america as the only government that guarantees an individual's liberties and freedoms. our hearts are broken at the tragedy that we saw this week in texas. as a mother and a grandmother, i cannot even imagine what the families of those dear children and those teachers are going through. i hope that you are all lifting them up in prayer. sadly, it is not the first time we have experienced this type of grief. all of us here today, and across the country, never want to see

anything like this ever happen again. but we have very many difficult questions that we have to answer today. this is not the time for grandstanding. this is not the time for shouting or division. this is the time to be honest, to work together to protect the future for our children and grandchildren. the truly decide where we are going as a country. we need to flecked -- reflect on our history and look back at where we have been. here are some of those questions. why was the second amendment even created? does it still hold value today? why is it ok for some to have guns and others not? why do we protect our banks, our stores, and celebrities, with armed guards but not our children? are they not truly our greatest treasure? much, much more valuable than material things?

if we limit the average citizen from having a firearm, will that keep those who choose to ignore the law from accessing one as well? i don't have all the answers for you today. i want to share with you why i believe the second amendment may be the most important of our bill of rights. the second amendment is sacred to me and to our family. it always has been. i am able to understand it, you need to -- in order to understand it, you need to know bit about me, growing up on a farm in south dakota guns were a fact of life for my family. my dad was a farmer and rancher, real-life cowboy who worked harder than anybody i had ever known. he was tough as rawhide. he lived a life of integrity and he expected his children to embrace those ideals. of course, this applied for firearms. owning guns is not a political thing for us. like most american families, we rarely discuss government or politics around the table.

on our ranch, or politics were lived, not talked about. we knew we had freedom and what -- that with personal responsibility, but we also knew we had to use both to make our corner of the world a better place to serve other people. it was not complicated. before i was old enough to get my own hunting license i used to follow my grandmother, when she was out bird hunting. yes, in south dakota, even our grandmas are armed. [laughter] [applause] my dad, he preferred big game hunting. from a young age, my siblings and i went with him. we had guns hanging in the back window of every pickup, our gun cabinet was proudly displayed in our living room. firearms were woven into the fabric of our day. we grew up educated about guns and hunting. as much as i love hunting, the second amendment is not about

any of that. the second amendment is about deterrence. it is about ensuring government respects the rights and liberties of citizens. a well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. [applause] those 27 words our freedoms last lines of defense. the founders understood deeply that without an armed citizenry, authentic freedom could not and would not survive. how did they know this? what were their circumstances? what did they know about human nature and the temptation to seize power? did they know how fragile freedom could be, what were they drawing on?

number one they were drawing on their own experience. the founders do the country would have never survive the revolutionary war if the colonists had not their own weapons. look at boston in 1775. 11,000 expertly trained british soldiers occupied the city. george washington army surrounded them. is american volunteers carried only muskets. they use these to hold the british advanta let 25 euros bookseller -- british at bay until 825-year-old bookseller. the cotton challenged infantry with the same firearm -- the continental infantry challenge the same firearm to feed their families. what else did the founding generation have? they knew human nature. in 1775 thomas payne laid it out clearly. the week will become prey to the

strong. the history of every asian -- nation establish this is -- this, facts news little argument to prove themselves. and i read about the constitution i am struck by the issue of timing. the first 10 amendments, the bill of rights were ratified effective december 15 1791. what else was happening in the world at that time? the french revolution. unlike the u.s. constitution, the declaration of the rights of man, the foundational document of the french revolution, does not include a right to bear arms. thomas payne's argument prove themselves in a horrifying detail. in paris, which was the center of european learning and culture for 1000 years, mobs tore down statues and crosses. does that sound familiar? they attacked religion.

they desecrated churches. the mob consumed french society, until a dictator, could arise from all of the chaos. our founding fathers were watching these horrors take place elsewhere in the world. when pennsylvania delegates wrote the constitution to philadelphia federal gazette, he wrote, civil rulers may attempt to tyrannize. the military forces which much the raise to defend our country might pervert their power to the injury of their fellow citizens. does this mean that at the time, the constitution was ratified the founders might have been worried about a corrupt american government, using the military to crush the rights of regular citizens? sounds that way. let's talk about the cities with the most restrictive gun control laws. 130 people are shot over a weekend in chicago we get

nothing -- when 30 people are shot over a weekend in chicago we get nothing from president biden. when members are killed in cleveland or michigan, they may get a passing mention in the news. for one a deranged murderer kills innocent children and people, the media seizes the opportunity to paint millions of law-abiding gun owners and you, and me as barbarians. monsters. people like chuck schumer and nancy pelosi, instantly started calling for more gun laws that would not have made any difference in stopping the shooter. they use the tragic situation to push their agenda. and it is all about control. it is garbage. i am not buying it for a second and you should not either. [applause] george mason warned to disarm

the people is the most effectual way to enslave them. the pandemic showed us that freedom is just as fragile in our time as it was in 1775. fortunately more americans are waking up to this, from 2020 to 2021, around 11 million people in the country purchased a firearm for the very first time. [applause] about half of them, where women. -- were imminent. -- were women. [applause] almost 60% of them were over the age of 45. [applause] i believe the number one reason was because of fear of civil unrest and to protect themselves and their family. we have seen the same type of radical mam ontology taking

place in the streets of american city that's what parents in the 1790's. mobs are tearing down statues and it does not matter who they are of, our founding fathers, catholic missionaries they wanted to come after mount rushmore. not on my wash -- watch. [applause] on cue the left and their media allies cheered them on. remember when chris cuomo was asking where in the constitution it says protests have to be peaceful? it is in the first sentence, the first amendment, look it up. [laughter] now, americans were horrified. we have an incredible opportunity in front of us but we also have a challenge. we need to find, educate and persuade these americans of why the second amendment is so vitally important. i mentioned that i grew up surrounded by guns throughout --

in a ranch was only later i learned firearms have an essential role in sustaining our political freedom at home. we need to help others understand that role too. we need to be smart in how we reach out to them. we should anchor ourselves in history and our present day trial. just saying, all the founders said this so we should do it too is just not good enough. they need to know why. the enemies of freedom have always tried to disarm patriots which is why we have to engage today. we know this is not something new in human history and because of that, we can anticipate the challenges. we need to act, with confidence, and with courage. we need to take action. the very first bill that i signed, upon taking office as governor in 2018 was constitutional carry. not only did i signed the bill, you held a signing ceremony in the rotunda of the capital to demonstrate the importance of the legislation. [applause]

but, i was not done. this year i advocated for and signed legislation that repealed all concealed carry permit in south dakota and the state is even going to pay for your federal background check. [applause] it will not cost you a penny to exercise your second amendment right in and south dakota. [applause] we also clarified south dakota's stand your ground law by establishing the burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence lies on the party seeking to overcome the immunity provided under this law. you have a right in south dakota to protect yourself, and your family. we updated the definition of loaded firearm to designate the firearm is considered loaded

only if around his chambered. this makes it easier to store unloaded firearms while still letting you defend yourself in situations when seconds matter. when it comes to the second, south dakota's leading and other states should follow her lead. now is not the time to cave to the woke culture. let me tell you the truth about the enemies of the second amendment. they are schooled in the ways of marx and london -- lneni -- lenin. they are ok with chipping away at your rights, 50 years, 100 years they are deceptive and they are patient. they count on americans to tire of the fight, to relinquish. our freedoms and rights. we saw during the pandemic. too many of our fellow citizens handed over the rights to work or to even leave their home until the corrupt government gave them the green light to do so. while not in south dakota. we were the only state that

never want to shut down a single business or closed -- once shut down a business or closed. [applause] our children came to the pandemic with the least amount of loss than any in the country. we are leading the country in educational outcome. we gave our citizens -- [applause] we gave our citizens the best information, we let them use personal responsibility to make the best decisions for themselves and for their family. freedom. [applause] i clearly told the people of south dakota what i was doing to solve the problem. my friends could see it and so could my opponents. that is what this community must do now. we need to be very clear about what the second amendment is really about and why we advocate

for it. this position is not going to make it popular with the liberals who want to restrict your freedom. they will attack you. we see it every single day. i get attacked every day in the media. i have two things to say about that. first, you get the most flak when you're over the target. if they are attacking you it is because you are doing something effective that scares them. [applause] so, keep it up[applause] . second, stay tough. prime minister margaret thatcher, the iron lady, you cannot go wobbly on this. [applause] i was recently reading a history of general grant, he had a powerful reflection early in the civil war that is relevant for us and the gun rights community. in one of his earliest battles, the young colonel was leaving his regiment against an enemy.

he was suddenly aware and felt an all-consuming fear. fear that he would fail, that he was going to get killed, that he was going to get all of his men killed. when his men finally came up over the rise, they saw the confederate position was empty, they had deserted. the opposing colonel had been every bit afraid of grant as granted -- grant had been afraid of him. he did not have the stomach for the battle so he ran. here is what grant wrote of that event. from that event, to the close of the war i never once experienced trepidation upon confronting an enemy again. though i always felt more or less anxiety, i never forgot that he had as much reason to fear my forces as ahead of his. -- as i had up his. but it is not unstoppable, what is more the left is afraid of the nra.

[applause] they fear people who think for themselves and who defend the rights. there are so many people out there that are counting on us to help them defend their right, so don't back down. now is not the time to quit. now would be the worst time to quit. now, is when we double down. [applause] leslie, -- lastly, what does it look like when someone embraces their fundamental rights? it's clear they become more free. they become more capable and independent, more powerful, more free. we are all called to live courageously in the battlefield of our daily lives, our workplaces, communities, our homes, our country needs it.

no weak willed or half measures will save us from the relentless or unhinged radicals that we are facing today. we double down. this fight is much bigger than the people in this room. the consequences of our actions will affect all future generations of americans. do you want your children to have the same freedom we have been blessed with? do you want your grandchildren to understand the -- and to know and experience liberty? then we must protect the second amendment. it is an honor. [applause] it is an honor to be in the trenches with each of you, that is why i am proud to be here today. thank you for your work. god bless you and may god continue to bless the great united states of america. thank you. [applause]

>> folks, please allow me to share a brief story with you. last august, reverend county sheriff deputies were conducting a joint operation with members of the united states border patrol along interstate 95. during the operation, deputy tyler conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle near west melbourne florida. during this routine stop, things went drastically wrong. when one of the individuals in the vehicle used a stolen firearm and began firing at tyler and the other deputies. the suspect in this case was a career criminal, with over 40 previous arrests, including 23

violent felonies, without on bond for two felony drug charges, and two felony warrants, outstanding when the incident occurred. deputy tyler exhibited exceptional bravery and courage while facing the armed violent suspect. his actions not only saved his life at the lives of his fellow deputies. as such, it is with great honor and pride that the national rifle association names deputy tyler as the 2022 nra law enforcement officer of the year. deputy, please come on stage and be recognized. [applause]

>> i am sure you are familiar with our next speaker. not yet. but here is a little known fact that is with sharing. -- worth sharing. one of his first client is an attorney in private sector was a national rifle association. right out of the gate, he has been a defender of the second amendment -- second amendment and he is not look back. from the support, and supreme court fights for the right to

self-defense outside of your home, he has been alongside us every step of the way. filing for us, and taking on the gun-control media. please join me in welcoming one of the most fearless defenders of the second amendment from the lone star state, senator ted cruz. [applause] ♪ >> god bless the great state of texas. [applause] i want to speak today on the nature of people. -- nature of people -- nature of

evil. we are gathered today on the nature of darkness come on tuesday less than three under miles away, an evil man murdered 19 children and two teachers. within hours, i was on a plane back to texas from washington. i spent the entire next day in uvalde. there, sat down with law enforcement, with local officials. i joined in a community prayer vigil that evening, as the entire community was reeling from the shooting. we prayed together. we cried together. mourning the unspeakable losses that have shaken the uvalde community and gripped our entire nation. there are no words to describe a monster, who enters the school

and murders little children. 19 little kids. 19 families in uvalde who have lost their little boys and their little girls. two families of teachers who are not here with us anymore. none of us will ever truly understand the manifest people that devastated uvalde on that day. the entire state, the entire country, is horrified and grieving. it is an evil that has happened too many damn times. [applause] in the last several years especially. texas has repeatedly seen the face of evil.

repeatedly. i have been on the ground, after these tragedies, one after another. i was in dallas in 2016 in sutherland springs in 2018, in el paso in 2019. now, uvalde. each time, was the picture of horror. if children are the picture of innocence, than the lunatics and monsters like this one, the one who would deliberately murder children, they are the picture of people. -- evil. many of us in this room are mothers and fathers. what happened in uvalde is the ultimate nightmare for every parent.

the anguish of those families right now is unimaginable. the very worst aenon earth -- pain on earth. every one of us in texas need to come together and comfort those families right now we need to love them, and brace them, and take care of them -- embrace them and take care of them. [applause] having visited communities over and over again, struck by the darkest people -- evil, there is another pattern i have seen, repeatedly, despite the darkness, i have seen love and compassion and heroism and strength in these communities. you see heroes, men and women of all walks of life, of every color, and greed c -- -- creed

pastors and laypeople coming together and standing as one. no matter the horror, our state response to each act of evil, and it has always been one of unity and strength and resilience. uvalde is strong. texas is strong. the entire country stands alongside the men and women core grieving in -- who are grieving in uvalde today. we will get through this and we will come through this together. at the same time. it is incumbent on us to understand what is behind these people tax -- evil attacks. when we were growing up this kind of thing did not happen. people may -- kids may have worried about getting a fist fight at school, maybe a bloody nose at recess, but we never

worried about a psychopath coming into our classrooms to commit murder. the elites who dominate our culture, tell us firearms why at the root of the problem. i refer to some of the most powerful politicians and their allies in the media. the leaders of the largest corporations in many of the most famous celebrities. and those who echo and amplify them. their resources are limitless. their megaphone is in norma's -- enormous. many of these same people make their accusations from behind safety, from gated communities equipped with private security or at the very least from safe and expensive neighborhoods protected by high home prices and low crime rates.

such people can afford and indulge in ideology but ignores reality. as is so often the case. those for this from the halls of power, are the most dependent on the ability to defend themselves. for millions of americans, the rights to keep and bear arms is not theoretical, it is not abstract, for a single mom in a dangerous neighborhood, it is a matter of basic security. taking guns away from these responsible americans, will not make them safer. nor will it make our nation more secure. in an age were elites and brace the funding the police -- embrace defunding the police, when gangs run rampant, and one radical district attorneys -- when radical district attorneys

refused to prosecute crime in cities across america, rarely has the second amendment been more necessary to secure the rights of our fellow citizens. [applause] but many would still tell us the people on display -- evil displayed in uvalde for buffalo derives from guns been in the hands of ordinary citizens. it is easier to slander one political adversary and to demand responsible citizens forfeit their constitutional rights. than it is to examine the cultural sickness giving birth to unspeakable acts of evil. it is far less comfortable to ask why despair and isolation and violent hatred is so prevalent in america.

it requires a sick soul to drive a truck into a crowded sidewalk, to plant a bomb in a marathon, or to fly a plane into a building. it requires a sick soul to open fire in a movie theater, or in a church, or in a school. a speeding automobile in the hands of a madman's deadly. -- madman is deadly. as is a jet airplane. tragedies like the event of this week are a mirror, forcing us to ask questions demanding that we see where our culture is failing. looking at broken families, absent fathers, declining church attendance, social media bullying, violent online

content, desensitizing the act of murder in video games, chronic isolation. [applause] prescription drug and opioid abuse and their collective effect on the psyche of young americans. it is both complicated and multifaceted. it is a lot easier to moralize about guns and to shriek about those you disagree with politically, but it has never been about guns. we know that places with some of the most restrictive gun laws, places like chicago and baltimore and washington, d.c. -- they don't have less gun violence. indeed, they contain some of the most dangerous communities on the face of the earth. we also know that there are communities in places like texas

with extraordinarily high rates of gun ownership and extraordinarily low rates of gun violence. we know that keeping guns away from citizens who follow the law does very little to keep them away from criminals who ignore the law. we know that there are no more guns per capita in this nation today than their work 50 or 100 years ago. that is worth underscoring. in 1972, the rate of per capita gun ownership in the united states was 43%. in 21, the rate is 42%. the rate of gun ownership has not changed. and yet, acts of people like we saw this week are on the rise. we have to ask ourselves why. the press will tell us these horrific crimes occur only in

america. that simply isn't true. the data show according to the crime prevention research center, "out of the 101 countries where we have identified mass public shootings occurring, the united states ranks 66th in the per capita frequency of these attacks and 55th in the murder rate. but to be clear, one is one too many. we know that many of these who seek to commit the most heinous crimes -- they are isolated from human contact. they are living a virtual life in the absence of community and faith and love. none of that excuses there heinous acts. none of that reduces the people of their deeds, but these are questions we have to answer if we want to rescue our country.

i ask these cultural questions because mere technocratic solutions, the acts of legislators or government regulators will not alone solve what ails us, and those who proclaim that it will are not telling you the truth. they are demagogue and -- demagogue-ing for political gain. some may be naive enough to confuse their virtue signaling for real solutions. they say as president obama did this week, "it is long past time for action -- any kind of action ." "do something," they demand. and here, perhaps to the surprise of some, i emphatically agree. there have been to dammed many

-- too damn many of these killings, and we must act decisively to stop them. [applause] but what is the something we should do? two washington democrats, the answer is so-called universal background checks and manning so-called assault rifles. the more aggressive among them call for banning all rifles. here's the problem -- their so-called solutions would not have stopped these mass murders, and they know this. [applause] the uvalde shooter -- and i will not use his name, nor should anyone else -- he should fade into eternal anonymity. [applause]

but that's on of a bench -- that son of a bitch passed a background check. as for so-called assault rifles, which american media love to demonize, these guns were banned from 1994 to 2004, and the department of justice examined the effect and concluded that it had zero statistically significant effect on violent crime. so why is it so many politicians advocate policies that they know will not work, that will not stop these or if? the answer for too many of them is that their real goal is disarming america. [applause] -- that will not stop these horrific crimes.

they point gleefully to other countries that have disarmed their citizens while overlooking the rise in crime and sexual assaults that has repeatedly followed. if they succeeded, these horrific crimes would not end. gun bans do not work. look at chicago. if they worked, chicago would not be the murder hellhole that it has been for far too long. [applause] the reason is simple -- the law-abiding citizens follow the law, but the criminals do not. that is why they are criminals. but let me tell you what would happen -- if they succeeded in confiscating guns -- many more people would lose their lives. here a statistic from the obama

white house, hardly a right-wing source. guns are used defensively to stop a crime between 500000 and one million times every single year. [applause] that means if the left disarms america, those crimes would no longer be stopped. many more single moms in subways would be assaulted or raped or murdered. home invasions would turn much more deadly as only the criminals would have guns. and far more children would be murdered. so does that mean we are

helpless? that there's nothing we can do to stop his crimes? absolutely not. let's focus on what works. stopping the bad guys. imprisoning violent criminals, and protecting our vulnerable. [applause] in 2013, i introduced legislation designed to take the guns out of the hands of felons and fugitives and those with serious mental illness. it did three things -- first, it would mandate that the department of justice could -- conduct an audit of federal agencies to make sure that all felony convictions have been reported to the database. second, it would create a gun crime task force at the department of justice specifically to prosecute felons or fugitives who try to buy

firearms illegally. in 2010, there were 48,000 felons and fugitives who tried to illegally buy guns. the obama department of justice prosecuted only 44 of them. that is indefensible. third, it would have authorized $300 million for school safety improvement grants to harden our schools, but it came to the senate floor for a vote in 2013. 52 senators voted yes, including nine democrats. it was the most bipartisan piece of comprehensive legislation before the senate. so why didn't it passed into law if a majority of the senate voted for it? because harry reid and chuck schumer and the democrats

filibustered it. if you want to talk about policy proposals that could stop at least some of these mass murders , that's a perfect example. take sutherland spring. it was already illegal for the shooter to purchase firearms. doubly so because he was a felon and because he had a domestic violence conviction. so how did he get his gun? because the obama air force failed to report his conviction to the database, and so he passed the background check. if the democrats have not filibustered, then the doj audit would have presumably caught his felony conviction, and the gun crimes task force would have prosecuted him for the felony of lying on the background check form. that would have meant that that

monster would have been sitting in a federal prison instead of murdering 26 innocent people in that beautiful sanctuary. to this day, i don't know of any reporter who has asked even a single democrat why they filibustered bipartisan gun violence legislation that could have made a real difference saving lives. so what about you faulty -- what about you faulty -- what about u valde? part of the legislation would have seen funding for upgrades. we discussed how that monster had entered through an unlocked back door, how he had been able to make it to a classroom unimpeded and murder innocent children. we also know that there are best

practices at several buildings and court houses where, for security reasons, they limit the means of injury to one entrance. schools likewise should have a single point of entry. [applause] fire exits should only open out. at that single point of entry, we should have multiple armed police officers. [applause] or if need be, military veterans trained to provide security and keep our children safe. [cheers and applause] maddeningly, the shooter in u

valde got in the exact same way the santa fe shooter did. he walked through an unlocked back door into an open classroom . we need serious funding to upgrade our schools, to install bulletproof doors and locking classroom doors. [applause] and to higher law enforcement to protect our most precious assets -- our children. [applause] senate democrats cynically blocked school safety funding, and they have repeatedly blocked my legislation to allow schools to access $1.3 billion in

federal funds to improve school safety. had uvalde gotten the grant to upgrade school security, they might have made changes that could have stopped this shooter and killed him at the single point of entrance with armed law enforcement there on the ground before he hurt any of these innocent kids and teachers. [cheers and applause] ultimately, as we all know, what stops armed guys is armed good guys. [cheers and applause] likely heroic plumber and nra rifle instructor who grabbed his

ar-15 and ran barefoot to stop the murder at sutherland springs -- the murderer at sutherland springs. [applause] or the border patrol tactical unit who finally killed the uvalde monster. [applause] and that's why the media's cynicism and dishonesty on this topic is so pernicious. the media blames you, the millions of members of the nra, for these crimes. that is a lie. [cheers and applause] nobody here has committed these kinds of unspeakable crimes. everybody here is horrified --

utterly horrified -- by these mass murders, but more importantly, it is the law-abiding patriots here who over and over and over again step up and risk their lives to stop these depraved lunatics. the media wanted all of us to stay away. but you are not the cause of this people -- of this people -- of this evil. instead, you are fighting for the bill of rights, to keep people safe in their homes. you are the veterans, the law enforcement members, the courageous men and women who rise to defend your fellow neighbors. we must not react to people and tragedy by abandoning the constitution or infringing on

the rights of our law-abiding citizens. now is not the time to yield to panic or intimidation or fear. now is not the time for lies. it is not the time for empty political gestures. now is the time for unity. now is the time for love, and now is the time for action to protect our right to stop those with people in their hearts and to do everything humanly possible to protect our children and to protect our families. god bless you. [cheers and applause] ♪

>> many of you will recognize our next speaker from his now famous "i am the majority" impromptu speech before the greensboro city council. it was during that speech that he said, "don't -- "when the second amendment was written, if the framers liked it or not, they wrote it for everybody, and i am everybody. the law-abiding citizens of this city are everybody and we want our rights and we will keep our rights, and by god, we are going to keep them, come hell or high water." [applause] since that speech, he has fought with as much conviction and passion as anybody in defense of

our constitutional rights and freedoms. it is my distinct pleasure to introduce to you this unwavering champion of the second amendment, please welcome my friend, nra member and lieutenant governor of north carolina, mark robinson. [cheers and applause] >> thank you for that great introduction, and as always, we thank our lord and savior jesus christ forgiving us all the blessings we have. without him, this nation would not be what it is, so we give him thanks first and foremost for all of those wonderful blessings. well, let me say first off that my heart is broken for the people of uvalde. those parents who lost children,

loved ones, all those friends and neighbors who are suffering. i'm reminded of the words of abraham lincoln who said to misses bixby who lost five sons in war to try to comfort her, and it is the same here. i cannot imagine the horror, the tragedy of having your child go off to school and see them no more alive. breaks my heart absolutely, and when i heard about it, i shed tears -- i did. when i look at my own grandchildren, my grandchildren are about that age. i cannot help but think, what if it was one of mine? how heartbroken i would be. the pain that would be in my household today. the pain that is in those households right now. so i paused, took a breath, and

i said a prayer because that's what we need right now. that's what those families need right now they need comfort. they need strength. they need wisdom. they need someone who actually cares about what they are going through. and that's what we need to give them. [applause] but, you know, when i look at my grandchildren, i am also reminded of why i am a law-abiding, armed, patriotic american. [applause] i'm reminded of why i believe in the premise of our second amendment when i look at those babies. i'm reminded why our framers put

it in our constitution that in this nation, you are not the second responder. you are the first responder, and that you have an absolute duty and a right to stand up and protect your own from any enemies, foreign or domestic. [applause] and so, i am here today, much to the chagrin of many of the leftists back home in my state who thought i should cower and stay home and not come here and continue to protect that right for those law-abiding citizens back home in north carolina and for the law-abiding citizens of this nation. [cheers and applause] here it is. here it is. everybody says -- what do we do? what do we do?

how do we stop this? what do we do? the answer is not simple, but there is a simple starting point, and here it is -- secure our schools. [cheers and applause] stop waffling and wavering and acting confused that you don't understand what the problem is. you have defunded the police, derided the police, and left our schools as soft targets, and you continue to do so, and as such, we need to defend and secure our schools. we need to make as much of an investment and secure our children as we do our airports. [applause] we need to make as much of an investment in securing your children as we do our banks and our money -- securing our

children as we do our banks and our money. hear me when i say this -- we need to make as much of an investment protecting our children as the american people do in protecting you in washington, d.c. you spare no expense buying every weapon known to man, every metal detector known to man, every modern convenience you have at your disposal to protect you behind the walls that you live in. but you are bound and determined to leave our children defenseless, and now you are bound and determined to leave the law-abiding, patriotic citizens of this nation unarmed and defenseless. i'm here to tell you right now, get your pencils out, lick them, and get ready to write this down -- it is not going to happen. [cheers and applause] we are not going to go off into that good night without standing up for our rights. it is time for the law-abiding

patriots in this nation to stand up and they hell no, we will not go -- and stay hell no, we will not go. we will continue to stand and fight what we know is right. we will protect our towns. we will protect our children, and we will protect the freedoms that god has given us and that have been enshrined in our constitution. we will not lay down -- hear me when i say this -- hear me when i say this, nancy pelosi, chuck schumer, and any other leftist communist marxists out there. what i need you to do is do this. i need you to take these two fingers, stick them in your ears, and clean the stuff out of them and hear us all as we say in unison, "shall not be

infringed, will not be infringed. we will not allow you to strip us of our rights so you can bring us to your -- to our knees ." we know what your machinations are. we have seen this movie before. we saw it in a place called russia. we saw it in a place called germany. we saw in a place called china. we saw it in a place called cambodia and vietnam, and we saw it, though briefly, in a place called venezuela. with the people are disarmed and have all the -- and the government has all the guns and the power, they always become despotic. in fact, if you put as much energy into doing that as you do into that political tap dance, into securing these schools and assuring them up and stop making

excuses, might could make a dent on this. god is up here with you today. don't be afraid. the newspaper asked me and i left home was i coming to the nra convention. the answer is yes and the reason i was going was to defend the rights of law-abiding citizens in my state and across my nation. god wants us to stand up and push back. the lies that have been told and continue to be told are not only threatening to strip our rights away from us, they are literally causing life to be lost on the streets. see, down in uvalde, beto o'rourke did not care about those children. he was willing to spit in their faces for political purposes. the news media stand silent when children are killed in chicago that genocidal rates. they stand silent, but as soon

as they see a chance to take a shot at their political enemies, they are ready to do it. well, we need to be bold. we need to stand up because on this side, we have the solutions. time for us to start pushing those solutions, and it starts with protecting our children at our schools. time for messing around is over, folks, and the time for blaming law-abiding citizens should have never begun. it is time to put the blame where it goes, which is at the shooter's feet, and it is time to look toward those ineffective elected officials who refused to move and do the right thing but instead take the easy way out. the way out needs to be them out of office. so, guys, don't be weary of

welldoing and do not be afraid to stand up for what is right because what you're standing up for indeed is right. stand strong. stand brave, stand proud. do not back down and never forget -- shall not be infringed. that is our motto, and that is what we will fight for. god bless you all. god bless texas. god bless north carolina, and god bless the united states of america. thank you. [cheers and applause] ♪ fellow nra member and the 45th president of the united states of america, donald j. trump. >> ♪ and i won't forget the men who died who gave that right to me and i gladly stand up new to you and defend her still