Attack gun rights, inspire more people to fight for gun rights. This is an equation you think that gun control supporters would have figured out. Once again, we see this play out in the NRA Annual Meeting numbers with a new record-setting attendance.
A total of 87,154 members attended the NRA convention in Dallas this year.
From the time I started attending in 2004, the event has grown by just over 42% in terms of attendance. It was about 7% larger than Atlanta for members who came out.
The line to see Trump and Pence on Friday was VERY long.
I thought they should have set a record but I thinking it would fall short. The convention center never seemed crowded (except the media room). I think the layout probably had something to do with it.
They have gotten better about layout and crowd flow for the most part. The aisles also tend to be wider now than they have been at other locations.
What drove attendance (and the following falloff thereof) in 2013?
2013 was in Houston just a few months after Sandy Hook and the extreme gun ban efforts after that incident. The fall off was not just the factor of no longer under immediate threat, but also the location. I thought Indianapolis was way more expensive than it should have been for a convention town.
Weird, that it’s expensive for a convention town. That’s way down the list of complaints I’ve heard from Gencon goers; including the threadbare ones.
Well, I’m sure the “Everytown for gun confiscation” will have a bigger crowd at THEIR ANNUAL MEETING! As soon as Bloomberg PAYS for it.
That is an important to make. These are all men and women who pay their own way to attend.
I wish they would have another one on the East Coast. I was not a member in 2010 when they were in Charlotte. Now a Life Member and they are too far to travel.
Had to chuckle because my flight went from Florida to Baltimore, then to Dallas, but yes it cost a day each way, and it was worth it. There was way more there than I could take in in three days.
Ugh, Charlotte was way overpriced downtown. Honestly, a beer there cost nearly as much as NYC.
That said, it’s back to Indy next year, then Nashville, then Houston, then Louisville before Indy again.
I’m debating trying to make Indy next year, put some more faces to handles.
I think me and HappyWarrior6 are going to try for Indy. If not, definitely for Nashville.
I really enjoyed Nashville as a convention city. Downtown is wonderful and walkable. Great food at reasonable prices. There was always something going on somewhere, even if you needed to take a break.
While there’s definitely traffic issues, it was easy enough to navigate that I even managed to pack a formal gown and escape one evening for a DAR event just south of the city and make time to meet up with family for a day of convention hall roaming.
The only hiccups I remember there were only due to volunteers, and we all know that we get a mixed bags with those types.
Based on this graph the answer is to have all conventions in Texas.
Or you could argue that because both happened months after school shootings where lawmakers started calling for extreme gun regulations on ordinary people instead of addressing the mental health problems of the shooter that were on the radar of authorities. Both were relevant factors in the two spikes of attendance.
Not to mention because NRA knows that setting a record every year doesn’t always mean legislative success, they understand that as a nationwide organization that wants to maintain a wide scope of influence, they need to move it around.
NRA attendance has been on a nice upward trend on its own merits without immediate threat well outside of Texas locations.
First one that I have ever attended in 40+ years of being a member. Of course having NRA pay my airfare and hotel room made it easy. I am told by the organizer of the event that I spoke at, that I was the best lunch speaker ever! (Trying not to let that go to my head.)
I hated that we missed you speaking this year! I’m glad that your talk went over well, and hopefully we’ll see you there in future years!
Professor Cramer. I attended the Firearms Law Seminar and heard you speak at the luncheon. I concur with what the organizer said. Your presentation was top-notch and everyone left the room wiser. Your thorough research helped to uncover some major fraud, and we thank you for your work. I just wish you had brought more of your books to the seminar.
This was the 7th Firearms Law Seminar I have attended, and I think over-all, from beginning to end, this was the best one since Nashville.