OAN Brooke Mallory
UPDATED 4:07 PM – Friday, April 14, 2023
Former Vice President Mike Pence advocated for the swift execution of mass murderers as a way to end gun violence while at the National Rifle Association (NRA)’s annual leadership summit on Friday in Indianapolis, Indiana.
“I’m tired of the senseless violence and loss of life that could be prevented if our leaders would support law enforcement, protect our schools, institutionalize the obviously mentally ill, and enact legislation that would ensure that anyone who engages in these heinous acts of mass violence meets their fate in months, not years,” Pence said.
When Pence walked on stage to speak in his own state, the audience booed him. Democrats, according to Vice President Mike Pence, need to confront the “very real problems of violent crime and mental health that are costing thousands of American lives every year.”
“Ignoring the motivations of the trans activist who killed three children and three adults at that Christian school in Nashville, and the ‘mental health challenges’ of the man who killed five people and injured eight others in Louisville, President Biden and the Democrats have returned to the same tired arguments about gun control and confiscation,” Pence continued.
This is the first time since leaving office that the former vice president and former President Donald Trump have been together on stage. Later in the afternoon, Trump was anticipated to address the room during the forum. With his image prominently displayed on a poster board at the event and a large number of Make America Great Again caps in the audience, the former president appeared to be the primary attraction.
On stage, Governor Kristi Noem (R-S.D.) and NRA CEO and Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre signed an executive order that puts a halt to recent attempts by some banks to discontinue lending to gun shops and manufacturers in South Dakota.
“I will be signing it on behalf of protecting those industries related to the gun and firearm industry from being discriminated against by financial institutions banking, credit card or otherwise,” said Noem.
Other candidates for the 2024 presidency, such as Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, delivered video-recorded messages.
In the front row, Guy Relford, a notable Indiana talk show personality and 2nd amendment attorney, said he was leaning towards DeSantis for the primary, but considered DeSantis’ choice to not attend in person while sending a video message to be “disappointing.”
“Trump has always said all the right things. He’s got a little bit of a spotty record as president,” Relford said.
He mentioned many in the gun rights movement didn’t like Trump’s swift action on bump stocks even though “there’s not a lot of people who care a lot about bump stocks necessarily.”
The NRA convention used to be must-attend event for Republican candidates running for president, but its power has been waning in recent years. The Indiana Convention Center, where the NRA convention is held, is next to Lucas Oil Stadium, where the NRA hosted its annual meeting in 2019.
The talks this year were given in a small ballroom inside the convention center.
After the recent mass shootings, several Republicans decided to adopt a different stance. Governor Bill Lee (R-Tenn.) openly asked the Tennessee state legislature to establish a state-level red flag statute. Pence once supported the red flag law when he was serving as governor of Indiana. The former vice president ultimately maintained that America now needs more “crime control,” rather than just gun control.
A “red flag law” is a type of gun confiscation law. It allows certain people to seek a Gun Violence Restraining Order (GVRO) to remove firearms from a person who has been deemed a threat to themselves or a person who has been deemed a threat to someone else,” according to the San Francisco District Attorney website.
“We don’t need lectures about the liberties of law-abiding citizens. We need solutions to protect our kids… So to Joe Biden and the gun control extremists, I say: Give up on your pipe dreams of gun confiscation, stop endangering our lives with gun bans, and stop trampling on our God-given rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution!” Pence said.
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