Houston, Texas: It’s almost midday at the National Rifle Association convention in Houston, three days after the worst school shooting in Texas history, and dozens of people are sitting in a seminar being taught about how to prepare for such horrific attacks.

“If all you’re planning for is an active shooter, that’s the wrong way to plan,” says training consultant Kris Sacra, a former paramedic who now specialises in responding to hostile events.

Speaking to his base: Former US president Donald Trump at the NRA convention in Houston.Credit:Nine

“We have to establish: what are the different types of attacks that we might see? If we’re only planning for that type of shooter – but we don’t plan for what happens when somebody takes a vehicle and drives it through the loading line where the buses are – then we’re setting ourselves up for failure.”

Two levels below, the first floor of the George R Brown Convention Centre is buzzing as gun-owning Americans weave their way through hundreds of stalls showcasing the latest firearms and gear: high-powered assault rifles; gun safety programs for children; military tactical clothing.

“Would you like a brochure?” a woman promoting concealed carry holsters for bras asks as I walk past, curiously examining the product.

And in the massive General Assembly room a few hours later, former president Donald Trump appears, the star attraction of the NRA convention, calling for teachers to be armed in the wake of Tuesday’s shooting.

Nancy Pablo, with the Alianza Latina International, holds crosses with photos of victims of the Robb Elementary School shooting as she protests the National Rifle Association Annual Meeting.Credit:AP

“We need a top-to-bottom security overhaul of schools,” he tells the enthusiastic crowd.

“Every building should have a single entry point. No one should ever be able to get near a classroom until they have been checked, scanned and screened… Above all, from this day forward, every school in America should have an armed police officer or an armed resources officer on duty at all times.”

“Clearly, we need to make it far easier to confine the violent and mentally deranged into mental institutions,” he said.

Trump was joined at the NRA’s 151st annual meeting by Texas Senator Ted Cruz and South Dakota governor Kristi Noem, both whom are also financial beneficiaries of the powerful lobby group.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott was due to speak at the event but pulled out at the last minute, opting instead to stay in Uvalde as families continued to grieve in the aftermath of Tuesday’s mass shooting at Robb Elementary School.

Guns aplenty at the NRA annual meeting in Houston.

Republican politicians John Cornyn and Dan Crenshaw also withdrew, citing “scheduling conflicts”, while numerous musicians pulled out as well, included American Pie singer-songwriter Don McLean, who said it would be “disrespectful and hurtful” to perform so soon after the tragedy.

The NRA is the largest and most powerful gun rights group in the US, financially backing politicians who oppose gun control legislation.

But Tuesday’s shooting in Uvalde has renewed the debate over the right to bear arms in America, and prompted hundreds of people to converge outside the convention centre today to protest against the three-day event.

Anti-NRA protesters, including mother Leyna, on left, who fears for her children in public schools.

Among them was a young woman holding up a sign that said: No More Thoughts and Prayers. Take Action!

“I have two children in elementary school,” said the woman, who gave her name only as Leyna. “I don’t want to send my babies to school wondering if they’re going to die.”

A few metres down the road, Gilbert Garcia from the League of United Latin American Citizens shared similar concerns, flanked by protesters holding placards and crosses with photos of the victims from Tuesday’s tragedy.

“I grew up in a home with guns, which is my right,” he said. “But in the state of Texas we have more people killed by guns than any other state in America. Something’s wrong.”

Inside, however, attendees from all ages and backgrounds proudly defended the Second Amendment. The convention centre in downtown Houston was a gun-lovers dream: row after row of the latest guns, artillery and gear, and conference rooms packed with aptly titled seminars: “Reloading Like A Master”; “Bullet Proof Mind for the Armed Citizen”; “Draw Time: What’s Fast or Fast Enough.”

Asked about the latest gun debate, one man, Michael Rivera, who had been lining up since 7.45am to see Trump speak this afternoon, said he didn’t want to see the US “turning into Australia” – a reference to the Howard Government’s decision to ban assault weapons in the aftermath of the Port Arthur Massacre.

“The guns protect us from the government, and the Second Amendment protects freedom of speech,” he said. [The First Amendment protests freedom of speech]

Another man, John, who did not want his surname used, said he believed the “evil” of mass shootings came down to young people with mental health problems. So should there be more background checks and mental health checks before gun licenses are issued, I ask?

The National Rifle Association convention took place in Houston today despite calls for it be cancelled following the Robb Elementary shootingCredit:Houston Chronicle

“How could we do that?” he replies, with a strong southern accent. “Unless you have a list of everybody who’s had psychiatric treatment – but that would be breaching their privacy rights. Or if you put a paper form in front of a kid, what’s stopping him from simply saying: ‘No I don’t have a mental health problem’. It just wouldn’t work.”

Back in the General Assembly room, Trump is letting rip. After pro-gun speeches from Noem, Cruz and NRA boss Wayne LaPierre, the former president begins his address by reading the names of the 19 children and two teachers who died at Robb Elementary, but quickly pivots to attacking the “cynical politicians” he says are “seeking to exploit the tears of sobbing parents to increase their own power and take away our Constitutional rights.”

“Every time a very disturbed or demented person commits such a hideous crime, there’s always a grotesque effort by some in our society to use the suffering of others to advance their own extreme political agenda,” he declares.

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem speaks at the meeting. Credit:AP

“More repulsive is the rush to shift blame away from the villains who commit acts of mass violence and place that blame on the law-abiding citizens of our nation such as our wonderful NRA.”

The crowd cheers feverishly. Once again, Trump showed up for his base – and didn’t disappoint.

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