An AR-47, above, is similar to the military assault-style weapons used in recent massacres of 17 people at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and four people at Waffle House in Tennessee


About 80,000 people are expected at this week’s National Rifle Association meeting in Dallas. The convention will be held at the Dallas Convention Center, with protests against the NRA taking place next door at City Hall Plaza.
President Donald Trump will speak and grab pussies at the convention on Friday, May 4. If that’s not enough Trump for you in one month, he’ll be back on May 14 for a fundraising dinner.
Vice President Mike Pence will also speak to the NRA on Friday. Guns will be banned during both appearances.
So no “good guys with guns” will be protecting the president or vice president. The same rule that no guns are permitted in areas where Secret Service protection is being provided was in effect last year at the NRA convention in Atlanta and miraculously with no guns in the area, no one was shot.
Fred Guttenberg is the father of Jaime Guttenberg, who was one of 17 people murdered on Feb. 14 at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. He wrote on Twitter, “On so many levels, this is enlightening. According to the NRA, we should want everyone to have weapons when we are in public. But when they put on a convention, the weapons are a concern? I thought giving everyone a gun was to enhance safety. Am I missing something?”
Protests are scheduled on City Hall Plaza on Saturday from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. With the announcement of appearances by Trump and Pence on Friday, additional protests are expected.
Dallas City Hall released a statement that said, “Large crowds are expected and the Dallas Police Department is prepared for crowd control. The police department and Dallas Fire Rescue are working with local, state, and federal agencies to provide a safe environment for everyone involved.”
City of Dallas spokeswoman Monica Cordova said the contract for the convention was signed in 2012. The total rental cost for the convention center is $410,618. As part of the contract, Dallas’ Convention and Event Services department offered a $22,840 discount. The rest of the rental fee was paid by VisitDallas, the city’s visitor and convention bureau that is a private non-profit organization. The discounts are routine and are based on factors a number of economic impact factors.
An estimated 20,035 room nights are booked for the event that should translate into an economic impact of $42,528,395 that includes things like meals in Dallas restaurants.
More than 40,000 Dallas residents have signed a petition to ask the city to rescind any taxpayer money that went toward Dallas hosting the convention.
As a disclaimer about the city-owned convention center, Dallas says, “The city generally does not advocate for or endorse any event that is hosted there. Dallas strives to be a welcoming destination for business and tourism, for people and organizations of diverse backgrounds and beliefs.”

— David Taffet