An NRA Fundraising Event In Western Montco Drew Protests Following Recent Mass Shooting

FRANCONIA, PA — A fundraiser designed to support the efforts of the National Rifle Association recently drew some opposition, when protests broke out at the site of the event by those questioning the decision to hold such a fundraiser not long after elementary school students were gunned down in a Texas mass shooting.

The fundraising event organized by the Montgomery County PA Friends of the NRA took place Thursday at the Franconia Heritage Banquet Facility, according to a report on Fox 29 news.

The report said that dozens of protestors stood outside the facility during the event protesting the timing of the fundraiser, since it was taking place not long after numerous children were killed during the shooting at the Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas.

Local resident Joel Alderfer posted Thursday on Facebook that he partook in the protest at the fundraising site.

He wrote on social media that he had learned about the fundraiser at 7 p.m. Thursday and he decided to drive over to the location to see what the turnout was like and join the other protestors.

A bulletin about the fundraiser put out by Montgomery County Friends of the NRA said the banquet came complete with one meal for the cost of the $50 entrance fee.

Various guns were being raffled off for different levels of table sponsorship, the bulletin said.

The national debate about gun control has once again emerged following the recent shooting in Texas.

While some individuals and lawmakers have called for additional gun legislation, opponents say that there are already plenty of gun laws on the books, many of which are rarely enforced, and that gun control typically only negatively affects law-abiding citizens and not criminals who carry out such attacks.

U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, a Democrat representing Pennsylvania's Fourth Congressional District, stated in a constituent newsletter that she recently joined her colleagues from the House of Representatives for an emergency meeting of the Judiciary Commitee addressing legislation titled the "Protecting Our Kids Act," which would raise the age to purchase all firearms to 21, institute safe gun storage requirements at the federal level, build on regulations to ban bump stocks and ghost guns, and other reforms sought by some legislators.

Here in Pennsylvania, it is unclear whether there is a strong appetite for any new gun laws.

Many Democrats would like to see additional legislation enacted, but Republicans who control the legislature have been typically opposed to adding more gun laws to the books.

One gun measure designed to ban certain types of firearms in Pennsylvania recently went nowhere after it came to a floor vote, according to a WHYY article.

The House Judiciary Committee Chairman, Rob Kauffman, a Republican, previously vowed to stop all further gun proposals from moving to the full House, according to news reports.

While the legislative branch has been dealing with the issue, the courts are also weighing on the gun matter.

Pennsylvania's Commonwealth Court recently affirmed a lower court ruling that struck down gun laws proposed by the City of Pittsburgh, with appeals judges saying the city does not have the authority to craft its own gun ordinances because it is preempted by state law.

Cities like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia in recent years have attempted to pass their own gun ordinances, but they have mostly been struck down by judges who point to Supreme Court precedence, which has held that under the state's Uniform Firearms Act, only the General Assembly can pass gun legislation, not individual towns and cities.