Protestors outside NRA convention mourn children killed by guns

Dozens gathered at a park in view of the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in downtown Indianapolis on Saturday. Demonstrators chanted “kids lives matter,” and they took turns reading the names of the roughly 1,600 children killed by guns last year while others lay on the grass to symbolize their deaths.

The NRA convention was held in the wake of recent mass shootings in Louisville, Ky. and Nashville, Tenn. Current and former GOP lawmakers mentioned the mass shootings in speeches Friday but placed blame on Democratic Party policies.  

Mary Tuttle, the Indianapolis parent who organized the demonstration, said she’s frustrated that Indiana lawmakers approved legislation banning gender-affirming care for minors, and nothing that addresses gun control.

“Zero children have died from puberty blockers,” Tuttle said. “Not one. Over 1,600 children have been killed in gun violence.”

Tuttle and other demonstrators said they don’t want to ban guns, but they do want to see more gun control measures taken at the federal and state level.

She said she wants the thousands of NRA members who attended this year’s convention to know: “I don't want to take all your guns. That's not who we are. What we want is for the NRA to stop keeping us from passing any legislation that helps keep people safe.”

Tuttle said she’d like the state of Indiana to once again require gun permits. State law currently allows for permit-less carry. Tuttle also supports laws that allow police to take guns away from high risk individuals — commonly referred to as red flag laws — which Indiana has in place. And she supports mandatory waiting periods for gun purchases — something that the state doesn’t currently require. 

Mary Ann Avery is a teacher in Richmond, a city in east central Indiana, who has been personally impacted by gun violence. Avery, who attended the demonstration, said she lost her daughter to suicide and several students in her school district to gun violence. 

“It just upsets me when I hear of the AR-15 [style guns] that are sold,” Avery said. “So I am pro ban on assault weapons, pro red flag laws, pro securing your weapons, and more robust background checks.”

Avery said she doesn’t support arming teachers with guns — something former President Donald Trump called for during his remarks at the NRA leadership forum on Friday. 

“A teacher that would be willing to carry a weapon would have to worry about a student taking it. And that's not something we should worry about in school,” Avery said. 

Indiana allows local school districts to approve teachers and other staff to have handguns in school buildings. A proposal making its way through the Statehouse would fund firearm training for school staff.

‘Cease and desist’

Avery said she’s not surprised that the NRA chose to hold its convention in Indianapolis. The Indiana legislature operates with a Republican supermajority, and Avery said both her state representative and state senator are gun supporters. And last week, state lawmakers passed a resolution to honor NRA executive vice president and CEO, Wayne LaPierre.

She described the fight for more gun control as “an uphill battle — but I’m a good climber.”

Protester Jauston Huerta, an Indianapolis activist known as TheKingTrill, said he’s lost countless people in his life to gun violence. 

He had a message for NRA members: “Quit believing the NRA’s narrative that... we want to strip you of your rights as a citizen of the United States of America. Nothing is more further from the truth. What we want to do is find a way to save these kids' lives.”

Huerta, who works with IDOC Watch — an Indiana-based organization that advocates on behalf of people in prison and those reentering society — said he doesn’t believe the NRA cares about human life.

“If I was a part of [the NRA], and was planning on having something like this after the past two weeks of seeing the multiple slayings and gun violence… I would cease and desist. I wouldn't do it because of compassion,” Huerta said. “But see, compassion has been replaced by corporate greed.”

Huerta said more gun control and an overhaul of the mental health system is necessary to save lives. But he said calls from NRA supporters to address mental health appear to be empty talking points given a lack of legislation or funding for these efforts.

Organizer Mary Tuttle’s 11-year-old child, who attended the demonstration, said they worry about children having access to guns and about gun violence in general. 

“As a queer child, there are so many people that are haters, and so many people that could hurt me in the world,” they said.

Gun violence is currently the leading cause of death among children. 

Some of the speakers at the NRA convention expressed sympathy for the victims of the recent shootings in Nashville and Louisville. But they blamed liberal policies and mental health for the violence. However, research studies have repeatedly shown that the vast majority of violence is not committed by people with mental illness.

Gun violence continues to plague Indianapolis. The city had 212 criminal homicides in 2022, a 15.87 percent decrease compared to the record-breaking numbers the year before. There were 252 criminal homicides in 2021 and 215 in 2020.

The Indianapolis chapter of Moms Demand Action planned a memorial for gun violence victims near Monument Circle for Sunday.

Contact WFYI education reporter Lee V. Gaines at lgaines@wfyi.org. Follow on Twitter: @LeeVGaines.