friday's nra convention, former president journal trump was among those addressing attendees this saturday on c-span. all the programs are available to watch on the go anytime c-span now our free video app, correctional hearings, speeches, archival footage all yours with c-span now. >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government funded by these television companies and more, including comcast. >> you thought this was just a community center? no, it is way more than that. >> comcast is partnering with 1,000 community centers to create wi-fi enabled centers for students of low income families to get them ready for anything. announcer: comcast supports c-span as a public service, along with these other television providers, giving you a front row seat to democracy.

>> joining us this morning to talk about the national rifle association convention in houston. an investigative reporter with the dallas morning news in houston this morning. why are they gathering in houston? guest: this is their annual convention, the meeting in houston was planned prior to the shooting in uvalde. there have been calls for it to be canceled, the mayor of the town said, given the contracts, he could not do that. we are planning to see a lot protesters today as the convention kicks off, as well as for president trump will be speaking. host: how many people are they expecting to attend the conference? guest: it is in a massive convention hall, so a lot. the nra has probably less than 5 million members, they are not

all going to be here. the annual convention is a popular gathering for them, where they get updates on legislation, they vote on leadership, they hear speakers in person, including the former president, as well as texas speakers. host: you mentioned former president is speaking. who else will be in person, and who will have recorded remarks and why? guest: we are scheduled to see senator ted cruz today. he is supposed to be in person. there have been several cancellations, senator john cornyn from texas and dan crenshaw canceled, both of them said it wasn't due to the shooting in texas, they had prior engagements. just yesterday, we found out that governor greg abbott will not the attending in person. he will be heading back to uvalde today. he will be releasing prerecorded video remarks. host: the former president, what

has he set about speaking at the nra today? guest: he has stuck to his scheduled speech. he hasn't said there was any doubt in his mind he would come into town and speak. interestingly, there will not be guns allowed at his particular speech. funds are allowed at the convention more generally, but when he speaks, they will sweep the location and not allow firearms and other weapons such as knives. host: do you know why? guest: they did this when the former vice president came to speak at a convention. it is not without precedence. the secret service says they need to ensure there are no security threats to the former president. host: talk about the influence of the national rifle association compared to other gun rights groups. where does it stand today? guest: someone argued the nra's

prominence is dwindling. obviously, listeners have been familiar with scandals internally at the organization over the last several years. anchors see allegations, mismanagement -- bankruptcy allegations, this management. they attempted to move the organization to take her -- to texas to avoid bankruptcy, that did not works. the membership has wendell in the past few years. there is still probably just under 5 million members in the country. it is a large organization. politically, their donations to republican candidates remain high. their ratings system, a b, c, d, f, is very important for republican candidates. they place a lot of importance on that ratings system. while we have seen the scandals

and some of their prominence dwindled in recent years, they remain powerful, especially in host: states like texas. host:host: you can follow her on twitter or >> c-span is your unfiltered view of government, we are funded by these television companies and more including medco. ♪ >> this supports c-span as a public service along with these other television providers to view a front row seat to democracy. >> here is what i had tonight on

c-span, coming up next today's speeches from the national rifle association convention in houston, former president trump is among the speakers, texas governor greg abbott gives an update on the mass shooting. later present biden gives the commencement address to the 2022 class of the naval academy, all these programs are more are available to watch on the go with c-span now our free video app. >> c-span's washington journal, every day we take your calls live on the air on the news of the day. we discussed policy issues that impact you, coming up saturday morning we will talk about the recent mass shooting at the robb elementary school with amy klinger, cofounder of a nonprofit and then jeff daly of the podcast tangle alpha lima

talks about the podcasting veterans issues, watch it live seven eastern cider morning. join the -- seven eastern saturday morning. >> according to education week the mass shooting at robb elements her school you all the texas was the 27th school shooting in 2022. since 2018 there have been 119 school shooting attacks. this weekend an overview of the debate and events that have transpired since the massacre in texas, we will start saturday just after 1 p.m., eastern with this week's gun safety rally hosted by congressional democrats. talking about banning ghost guns, expanding universal background checks and enacting red flag issues.

then it is the confirmation hearing for the president's choice to serve as the director of bureau of alcohol tobacco, firearms and explosives, the senate judiciary committee questions the nominee. later we'll show you speeches from friday's nra convention in houston, former president donald trump is among those addressing attendees this saturday on c-span and a reminder all of these programs and more are revealed -- are available free to watch on the go anytime. congressional sessions, hearings, archival footage all yours with c-span now. next the national rival association's leadership forum. speakers included south dakota governor christie noem, texas senator ted cruz, and former president donald trump. the session begins with remarks from n.r.a. c.e.o. wayn