Photos of Minors Handling Guns in NRA's Annual Meeting Circulated in Social Media Resulting in Public Backlash

Minors as young as six years old were seen trying out deactivated guns and pointing them directly at other people during the NRA's Annual Meeting.

It was a "freedom-filled weekend for the entire family" at the 2023 annual meeting of the National Rifle Association last April 14 to 16 in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Following the event, Reuters released a series of photos by Evelyn Hockstein where minors, ages six to 14, were seen handling deactivated firearms.

The images circulated over social media, and though some have already been taken down from the news outlet's database post-publication following parents' requests and complaints that Reuters did not ask for their permissions, the photos have already caught the public's attention.

They have prompted public backlash and strong outbursts from gun-control advocates.

'Gun extremism'

Founder of Moms Demand Action Shannon Watts took to Twitter Sunday and posted four of the photos from Reuters with a caption stating, "Gun violence is now the leading cause of death of children in America."

Her caption was in agreement with a CNN report last month that stated how firearms had surpassed car crashes and cancer as the leading cause of death of American children and teens in 2020.

"Responsible gun owners and parents would not allow a child to put their finger on a firearm's trigger while pointing it at other people - even if they're props," she stressed in an interview she did with the Insider.

Watts further stated that NRA's goal was "never" to educate the kids about how to handle a gun responsibly but "clearly" how "to market guns and gun extremism to a new generation,"

'This is not a gun problem'

On the NRA's website, a call to join "fellow Second Amendment patriots" was their aim for the said annual gathering.

Top Republican speakers were invited to the conference who were reported to cite scripture and give high praise for the Second Amendment.

According to Times, former Vice President Mike Pence stated, "Stop trampling on the God-given rights of the American people every time a tragedy happens." In contrast, former President Donald J. Trump was heard declaring, "This is not a gun problem," The New York Times reported.

The annual meeting happened following the mass shootings in Nashville, Tennessee, and Louisville, Kentucky, that took the lives of eleven people.

Demonstrators were found outside the conference reading off the about 1,600 names of the children who lost their lives because of shooting and gun violence incidents last year.

The Insider reached out to NRA for comments about the exhibit and the public backlash it is getting or Watt's statements. However, as of writing, they have not responded yet.

According to the NRA's Firearms & Product Display Regulations, guns in the exhibit were "incapable of being fired."

All the firearms were "deactivated through the removal of the firing pin or other alteration" and "banded through the trigger guard" before it was put on display.