As Donald Trump visits Dallas, Texas to speak at the NRA convention, DNC Spokesperson Kenia Guerrero released the following statement: 

“Donald Trump is in Texas speaking to the NRA today to once again show the American people where his true priorities lie: appeasing the gun lobby over prioritizing Americans’ safety. Let’s not forget that just days after the Uvalde shooting, when 19 children and two educators tragically lost their lives, Trump went on to speak at the NRA convention, cozying up to the gun lobby in the wake of unthinkable suffering for families across the state. Donald Trump is not only campaigning on an agenda to roll back the progress President Biden has made to curb the gun violence epidemic, but he’s also running on a platform of revenge and retribution, using the little time he spends on the trail to spew hateful rhetoric that makes Latino communities less safe. While Donald Trump brags about being the NRA’s biggest fan, tells victims of gun violence to ‘get over it,’ and lines his pockets with NRA money, President Biden is tackling the gun violence epidemic head on. President Biden worked with Congress to pass the most significant bipartisan gun safety legislation in decades and is pushing Congress to go further by passing an assault weapons ban. When it comes to our safety and the safety of our loved ones, Trump can’t be trusted to protect the American people.”

In the United States, Latinos are at higher risk of being victims of gun violence.

Unidos US: “Latinos are twice as likely to die by gun homicide and four times as likely to be wounded by a gun than are white people.

“One in three Latino adults (33%) report that they worry either ‘every day’ or ‘almost every day’ about themselves or someone they love being a victim of gun violence.

“Latino children and teens are three times more likely to be killed by gun homicide than their white peers.”

Center for American Progress: “From 2009 to 2018, the rate of gun-related assaults against Black and Hispanic Americans was 208.9 and 128.7, respectively, per 100,000, compared with 90.5 per 100,000 for white Americans.”

Giffords: “Young Latino men experience some of the highest rates of gun violence. Gun violence is the leading cause of death for Hispanic male youth ages 15 to 19 and the third leading cause of death for Hispanic male adults ages 20 to 44.26. Unfortunately, the Latino and Hispanic communities have disproportionately borne the impact of our country’s gun violence epidemic for decades. In fact, gun homicides have been the second leading cause of death for Hispanic males ages 15 to 34 for over 20 years.”

NBC News: “Latinos are big backers of gun restrictions. In a Pew survey conducted about five months after the El Paso massacre, nearly 7 in 10 Hispanic voters (68 percent) said gun laws should be stricter than they were at the time of the survey.”

Trump is visiting Dallas, Texas this weekend to speak at an NRA conference, at a time when Latinos in the state are dying at disproportionate rates from gun violence. And in some communities, people are still grieving their loved ones murdered in recent mass shootings.

Center for American Progress: “In Texas, another state with a large Hispanic population, Hispanic people are nearly twice as likely to die by gun violence than white people. A Hispanic person living in Texas is more than three times as likely to die by firearm than a Hispanic person living in New York.”

Texas Tribune: “Man who killed 23 at El Paso Walmart pleads guilty to hate crimes” 

“‘This attack is a response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas,’ Crusius posted shortly before the shooting on a website popular with white supremacists. He also said immigrants were seeking to ‘replace’ white Americans. The gunman was mirroring rhetoric that continues to be used by some conservative political and media figures, saying that large-scale migration from south of the border is an ‘invasion’ and part of a ‘great replacement’ of white people by people of color. Most — though not all — of the shooter’s victims were Mexican Americans or Mexicans. His barrage was the deadliest attack on Hispanic people in modern U.S. history.”

NBC News: “Uvalde Massacre Is Yet Another Shooting Affecting Latinos – And Spotlighting Gun Issues.”

NPR: “[On whether the shooting in Uvalde contributes to the feeling of the Latino community being under attack] I think it does. I think especially to your point in this instance because the motive of the attack wasn’t clear. I think that adds an additional layer of maybe uncertainty or fear because the shooter was also Latino, and so I think it adds this sort of almost level of mistrust of ‘We’re supposed to be a community, we’re supposed to watch out for each other, and how can we hurt each other like this?’”

Trump keeps pandering to the NRA — which has given tens of millions of dollars to his campaigns. He spoke at an NRA conference just days after the Uvalde massacre and told Iowa school shooting victims to “get over it.”

Politico: “Former President Donald Trump on Friday addressed the National Rifle Association’s annual conference in Houston … just three days after a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school.”

New York Magazine: “President Trump met with survivors of the Parkland school shooting and attempted to convey a sincere intention to act. … What happened next was predictable. Trump met with the head of the NRA. He stopped talking about the issue he was going to solve.”

Rolling Stone: “Trump on Iowa School Shooting: ‘Get Over It’”

“A day after a gunman killed a sixth grade student and wounded five other people at Perry High School northwest of Des Moines, Donald Trump returned to the state at a campaign event and told residents that they ‘have to get over it.’”

Trump: “There’s no bigger fan of the NRA [than me].”

NBC News: “Trump says mass shootings are not ‘a gun problem’ as 2024 GOP hopefuls pledge loyalty to the NRA”

Yahoo News: “The gun-rights group spent $54 million during the 2016 election cycle, including $30 million to help Donald Trump get elected president.”

Fortune: “For instance, in 2020, the NRA alone spent over $12 million campaigning against Biden and another $4.5 million in favor of Donald Trump.”

Reminder: Trump made the gun epidemic WORSE as president, refusing to pass commonsense gun reform and making it easier for criminals to carry guns — all while the murder rate skyrocketed — AND he CONTINUES to push a dangerous agenda.

New York Times: “Conceding to N.R.A., Trump Abandons Brief Gun Control Promise”

The Hill: “The [Trump] White House on Monday issued a statement warning that President Trump would veto proposed legislation to enhance background checks for gun purchases if it passes the House and Senate.”

Politico: “Trump quietly used regulations to expand gun access”

Unidos US: “The 2020 surge in gun violence disproportionately took place in predominantly Latino and Black communities, accounting for 85% of the increase in gun-involved homicides from 2019 to 2020”

Associated Press: “FBI: 2020 homicides up nearly 30%, largest 1-year jump ever”

Philadelphia Inquirer: “The Council on Criminal Justice, a D.C.-based research group, found that homicides in 21 American cities were up 32% between March and October compared with 2019. And some analysts believe 2020 could record the largest-ever single-year increase in murders in the United States.”

New York Times: “In the face of N.R.A. opposition, [Trump] has also retreated from his earlier openness to expanded background checks and a renewal of the expired ban on assault weapons.”

Trump: “I will sign concealed carry reciprocity. Your Second Amendment does not end at the state line.”

CNN: “Trump suggests arming teachers as a solution to increase school safety”

Reuters: “[Trump] also called for eliminating gun-free school zones, adding that such zones leave victims with no means to defend themselves in case of an attack by an armed person.”

Meanwhile, President Biden reached across the aisle to pass the American Rescue Plan, which included hundreds of billions of dollars to boost local law enforcement, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades.

ABC News: “President Joe Biden will announce Friday that $10 billion from the American Rescue Plan has been committed to police departments and public safety across the U.S. … These funds show what has been reported from cities through the end of 2021. The COVID-19 relief law included $350 billion for state and local governments to reduce violence.”

Everytown for Gun Safety: “The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act established an enhanced background check process for buyers under 21. There have been more than 100,000 enhanced background checks for these buyers, which have kept almost 1,000 guns out of the hands of prohibited persons—including more than 200 people that were denied solely because of the changes made in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act.

“Hundreds of millions of dollars have also been invested to help federal, state, and local law enforcement get the right records into the background check system to ensure that checks are complete and thorough.”

White House: “The American Rescue Plan (ARP) has provided over $15 billion to prevent crime and promote public safety, including community violence intervention programs and crisis responders, while Bipartisan Safer Community Act —the most significant gun safety legislation in the last 30 years—provides $250 million in funding for community-based violence prevention initiatives, in addition to key investments for schools to expand mental health services and violence intervention programs.”