New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu is facing pressure to not show up to an upcoming NRA forum in the wake of Monday’s school shooting in Nashville.
Sununu, a Republican governor who has been exploring a run for president, has been scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association’s annual leadership forum next month.
Other politicians who are set to speak at the Indiana Convention Center for the NRA forum include former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Congressman Jim Jordan and South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem.
Following Monday’s school shooting at the private Christian school in Tennessee, Granite State Democrats are calling on Sununu to nix his appearance at the NRA forum.
“Chris Sununu has shown time and time again that he values his NRA rating more than the safety of Granite Staters,” New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley said in a statement. “In light of yet another devastating and preventable tragedy where innocent lives were stolen by senseless gun violence, it is incomprehensible that Sununu would even consider speaking at this NRA event.
“Instead of using this forum as an opportunity to build his national profile and brag about how he gutted gun safety in New Hampshire, I am calling on the governor to cancel his appearance at this event immediately,” Buckley added.
Sununu on Tuesday ordered flags lowered to half-staff for the school shooting victims. He did not immediately issue a statement on the upcoming NRA forum, and his press team did not respond to a request for comment.
Sununu in past elections has been endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund, and the governor has earned an “A” rating from the NRA.
Six people, including three children, were killed in Monday’s school shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville.
As Democrats push for gun restrictions and assault weapons bans, some Republicans in the wake of the shooting are focusing their message on school security.
“I think the best thing we could have done is had some cops in that school when she shot the place up,” Sen. Lindsey Graham told reporters.
Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett, a Republican, told reporters after the Nashville school shooting, “We’re not gonna fix it. Criminals are gonna be criminals.”
When asked about what Congress can do, he responded, “I don’t see any real role that we could do other than mess things up.”