Pence booed at NRA gathering even as he seeks to move right of Trump on guns

By Alexandra Ulmer

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana (Reuters) - Former Vice President Mike Pence was booed at a gathering of the country's largest gun rights lobby on Friday even as he sought to present himself as a more ardent defender of gun rights than his former boss Donald Trump.

Trump, meanwhile, used the same forum on Friday to declare he would be a "fearless champion" of Americans' right to bear arms. Trump is considered a leading contender for the Republican 2024 presidential nomination while Pence has said he is nearing a decision on a possible run.

Boos rang out in the vast Indianapolis conference room of the National Rifle Association's convention as Pence took the stage to deliver his speech, underscoring the tough battle he faces to win over Trump fans if he decides to run.

Many Trump supporters soured on Pence after he refused to back Trump's false claims of widespread election fraud in the 2020 presidential election and overturn Trump's election loss in his former capacity as president of the U.S. Senate.

"I love you too," Pence joked to the crowd of hundreds, many of whom were wearing Trump-themed T-shirts and red baseball hats.

Pence, who has a gold-plated rating from the NRA for his stance on gun rights, called for armed officers at all schools and speedier executions of shooters, hoping to draw a contrast with Trump, who angered some activists in 2018 by banning the high-power gun attachments used in a 2017 Las Vegas mass shooting.

"I believe the time has come to institute a federal death penalty statute, with accelerated appeal, to ensure that those who engage in mass shootings face execution in months, not years," Pence said.

Pence, Indiana's former governor, received scattered applause during his speech and then more boos as he concluded.

Trump, whom the NRA enthusiastically backed in 2016 before he was even officially declared the Republican presidential candidate, later addressed the same crowd, saying, "With me at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, no one will lay a finger on your firearms."

He said he would push for a new tax credit to reimburse teachers who obtain a concealed-carry firearm and receive training.

RITE OF PASSAGE

The conference is taking place at a key moment in the Republican presidential campaign.

A number of hopefuls, including Trump's closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, are deliberating on whether to jump in to the 2024 race to challenge the former president for the nomination. DeSantis and other White House hopefuls, U.S. Senator Tim Scott and former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley, addressed the NRA by video message.

DeSantis, who has not yet said he will run, extolled a recent Florida law allowing residents to carry a concealed firearm without a permit.

"Because of our efforts in Florida, we now have a majority of states in this country that recognize such a right," he said.

The parade of top-tier politicians shows that the NRA event remains a rite of passage for Republican hopefuls, despite the slew of corruption accusations and legal problems faced by the group, as well as media reports of dwindling membership.

"The NRA is still the granddaddy of the guns lobby. The NRA-endorsed candidate in a Republican primary is very important," said Richard Feldman, a member and former NRA lobbyist.

Feldman said he expected the NRA to endorse Trump eventually because its most vocal membership base - which draws heavily from a white, rural and male population subset - still supports him.

Even if the NRA does endorse Trump, the group, faced with a major lawsuit in New York and falling revenue, according to some reports, is unlikely to provide the same financial support as in past elections.

Spending has already decreased: The NRA spent some $54.4 million during the 2016 election, including $31.2 million for Trump's campaign, but that fell to $29.1 million in the 2020 cycle, the bulk of it for Trump's campaign, according to OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan research organization that tracks U.S. advocacy dollars.

The gun rights lobby has also come under pressure from the at least 149 mass shootings around the country since the start of the year.

In just the last three weeks, two mass shootings killed 11 people, first at a school in Nashville, Tennessee, and then at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky. In both cases, the shooters purchased their weapons legally.

"Republican primary hopefuls are descending on Indianapolis to pander to the NRA's extreme leaders for support that will be poison in a general election," said Shannon Watts, founder of gun control group Moms Demand Action.

The Biden administration, which has pushed gun regulations, on Friday said the NRA should be addressing the "soaring number of children" killed with guns, and was instead resisting "commonsense" measures that would save lives.

The NRA did not respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer in Indianapolis, Indiana; Editing by Ross Colvin, Daniel Wallis and Matthew Lewis)