Mireya Rodriguez was working at the Allen Premium Outlets mall more than a year ago when she heard the gunshots.
She came out physically unscathed the day a gunman shot and killed eight people and injured seven on May 6, 2023. But it didn鈥檛 come without a price.
鈥淚 lost all my innocence while nearly losing my life that day,鈥� the 21-year-old told a crowd outside Dallas City Hall, her voice shaking.
She spoke against a backdrop of colored T-shirts with the names of individuals killed by gun violence. Activists and faith leaders urged the public and lawmakers Saturday to remember those names during a peaceful rally for gun control as the second day of the National Rifle Association鈥檚 annual convention started up across the street.
Rodriguez is a pre-law student at the University of Texas at Dallas and a member of Students Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. As a survivor of the Allen mall shooting and a member of what she called 鈥渢he mass shooting generation,鈥� Rodriguez called on the NRA to abandon its 鈥済uns everywhere鈥� agenda.
鈥淭heir actions continue to be a slap in the face for survivors like me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 want the NRA to know that the gun violence survivors that they helped create will never welcome them in Texas or anywhere else for that matter.鈥�
The NRA meeting comes in a month that marks the anniversary of some other high-profile mass shootings in Texas. Saturday marks exactly six years since a 17-year-old gunman shot and killed eight students and two teachers at Santa Fe High School near Houston.
And next week marks two years since the massacre at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, in which 19 kids and two adults were killed by a teenager with an AR-15 鈥� the deadliest public school shooting in Texas history.
But Katie O鈥橞rien, Tarrant County elections lead for Moms Demand Action, also decried the role of firearms in suicides across Texas and the country. Nearly 60% gun deaths in Texas are suicides, according to data compiled by Everytown for Gun Safety.
鈥淧ublic awareness, purchaser education, voluntary do-not-buy lists, waiting lists and suicide hotlines are but a fraction of the multifaceted solution we could call on if our state legislature would do what is right,鈥� O鈥橞rien said. 鈥淚nstead, they are comfortable with the weak laws Texas has when it comes to gun safety.鈥�
Other speakers included Scott Spreier with the North Texas chapter of Giffords Gun Owners for Safety. Too many gun owners cling to the vision of gunslingers as American heroes for fear of 鈥渃ultural emasculation,鈥� Spreier said 鈥� and he gets it.
鈥淭he feeling (that) modernity is passing us by can be hard to deal with,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he National Rifle Association and the gun manufacturers next door promoting their wares, they get it too. They're doing that to stoke our fear and anger and sell more products and make more profit.鈥�
The rally-goers planned on moving the protest to the convention center, but ultimately canceled that plan because of what they said were concerns about getting into a confrontation.
The NRA, meanwhile, was preparing for hundreds of people filing into the convention center Saturday afternoon for arguably the main attraction: former President Donald Trump鈥檚 address at the convention鈥檚 leadership forum. He was set to take the stage at 3:15 p.m.
Tomorrow, President takes the stage as the keynote speaker of the NRA Leadership Forum! He will be joined by , NRA President Charles Cotton, NRA EVP & CEO Andrew Arulanandam, & NRA-ILA Exec. Dir. Randy Kozuch.
— NRA (@NRA)
The rally concluded with chants of 鈥渘ot one more鈥� and 鈥渘o more silence, end gun violence鈥� as they marched in a square near the plaza.
Rally goers were also encouraged to give blood at a drive at the Jonsson Central Library. A study shows gunshot victims require than those without gunshot wounds.
Concealed carry is allowed, but no firearms or ammunition are sold at the meeting. Still, visitors are welcome to peruse gun-related exhibits and vendors.
The NRA convention lasts through Sunday.
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