text: Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Student Cameron Kasky addresses the March for Our Lives rally on March 24, 2018 in Washington, D.C. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images 
   
   Guns will be banned from the premises when Vice President Mike Pence speaks at a National Rifle Association convention in Dallas on Friday. Before and during the speech, attendees are prohibited from bringing “firearms and firearm accessories, knives or weapons of any kind,” the NRA wrote as it announced Pence’s presence at the conference. 
   
   The NRA is blaming the Secret Service for the prohibition but that didn’t stop survivors of the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who were quick to criticize the organization’s apparent hypocrisy in giving in to demands for a gun-free area. 
   
   “Wait wait wait wait wait wait you’re telling me to make the VP safe there aren’t any weapons around but when it comes to children they want guns everywhere?” asked Matt Deitsch, a Parkland student who helped organize the March for Our Lives rally. “Can someone explain this to me?” 
   
   Wait wait wait wait wait wait you’re telling me to make the VP safe there aren’t any weapons around but when it comes to children they want guns everywhere? Can someone explain this to me? Because it sounds like the NRA wants to protect people who help them sell guns, not kids. — Matt Deitsch (@MattxRed) April 28, 2018 
   
   He was hardly alone. Cameron Kasky, another Parkland survivor noted on Twitter that the “NRA has evolved into such a hilarious parody of itself.” 
   
   The NRA has evolved into such a hilarious parody of itself. pic.twitter.com/6Pw6NTQAe6 — Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) April 28, 2018 
   
   Fred Guttenberg, the father of 14-year-old Jaime Guttenberg, who was killed in the attack, also highlighted the ban, noting that “on so many levels, this is enlightening.” The NRA says “we should want everyone to have weapons … but when they put on a convention, the weapons are a concern?” ||||| 
   
   Vice President Pence is scheduled to speak at the annual NRA gathering in Dallas on Friday. (Karel Navarro/AP) 
   
   The National Rifle Association has championed the idea of “a good guy with a gun,” but no firearms will be allowed when Vice President Pence speaks at its annual meeting — sparking criticism from Parkland, Fla., students, who say schools should be afforded the same protection. 
   
   And in a rare occurrence, even some NRA supporters have voiced opposition to the prohibition. 
   
   Pence is scheduled to speak at the annual NRA gathering in Dallas on Friday, and many attendees will be packing guns, knives and other weapons for the event — which includes “more than 20 acres” of firearms exhibits expected to draw 80,000 members. 
   
   But the NRA said the U.S. Secret Service will coordinate security for the Pence speech and will not allow weapons in the arena while he is present. 
   
   “As a result, firearms and firearm accessories, knives or weapons of any kind will be prohibited in the forum prior to and during his attendance,” the NRA said. A detailed list of prohibited items includes ammunition, drones, gun parts, firearm magazines, as well as signs and glass containers. 
   
   With the exception of the Pence event, lawfully carried firearms will be permitted at the convention center and the host hotel, the NRA said, advising members to comply with federal, state and local laws. 
   
   [After Parkland shooting, NRA posts biggest fundraising haul in nearly 20 years] 
   
   The NRA is complying with laws that prohibit firearms from being brought into areas where Secret Service protectees visit, agency spokesman Shawn L. Holtzclaw told The Washington Post in a statement Sunday. That includes events in open-carry states such as Texas, he said. 
   
   “Individuals determined to be carrying firearms will not be allowed past a predetermined outer perimeter checkpoint, regardless of whether they possess a ticket to the event,” Holtzclaw said. 
   
   Attendees were similarly restricted from carrying weapons during President Trump’s speech to the NRA in Atlanta last year. The president is expected to speak at the annual meeting on Friday, a White House official confirmed Monday. 
   
   The NRA, bolstered by Trump, has been a vocal proponent of allowing more guns in public places, including schools, but the exception for the convention has raised eyebrows and prompted skepticism among students and at least one parent who lost his child in the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 people were killed and others injured. 
   
   “On so many levels, this is enlightening. According to the NRA, we should want everyone to have weapons when we are in public,” Fred Guttenberg, father of slain Parkland student Jaime Guttenberg, said Sunday on Twitter. “But when they put on a convention, the weapons are a concern? I thought giving everyone a gun was to enhance safety. Am I missing something?” 
   
   On so many levels, this is enlightening. According to the NRA, we should want everyone to have weapons when we are in public. But when they put on a convention, the weapons are a concern? I thought giving everyone a gun was to enhance safety. Am I missing something? https://t.co/f4wgNhJ7RI — Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) April 28, 2018 
   
   The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. 
   
   Matt Deitsch, who graduated from the Parkland school in 2016 and is the chief strategist for the March for Our Lives protest, expressed similar skepticism. 
   
   “You’re telling me to make the VP safe there aren’t any weapons around but when it comes to children they want guns everywhere? Can someone explain this to me?” Deitsch said Saturday on Twitter. “Because it sounds like the NRA wants to protect people who help them sell guns, not kids.” 
   
   March for Our Lives did not respond to a request for comment. 
   
   Parkland student Cameron Kasky said Saturday on Twitter: “The NRA has evolved into such a hilarious parody of itself.” David Hogg, a Parkland student, circulated a petition on Sunday calling on Pence to cancel his NRA appearance. 
   
   Some gun enthusiasts and apparent NRA members are displeased at the prohibition. At Texas CHL Forum, a message board for gun owners, commenters aired their frustrations. 
   
   “Obviously even republicans and so called leaders don’t trust the ‘good guys.’ I realize it’s the VP, but still makes our whole argument look foolish,” a commenter who self-identified as an NRA member said Thursday. 
   
   [A fake photo of Emma González went viral on the far right, where Parkland teens are villains] 
   
   “You may disagree … but in my opinion the very people that claim to protect the 2A should never host an event that requires disarming the good guys. Sad. No excuses for this … it makes us look stupid,” the commenter said. 
   
   Another self-identified NRA member agreed, saying Friday: “Me personally, I won’t be listening to him speak. I won’t be going anywhere that I cant carry my firearm. It’s essentially the nations largest get together for gun owners and they won’t let law abiding legal gun owners carry guns because someone who’s supposedly pro 2A thinks its too ‘dangerous’? thats liberal logic right there.” 
   
   Other users chimed in, saying the Secret Service is simply carrying out the law. 
   
   “Look at it this way, imagine what a prime opportunity it would be for some rabid gun hater to take a pot shot at the VP AT the NRA Annual Convention,” one commenter who self-identified as an NRA instructor said Saturday. “The campaign ads would write themselves.” 
   
   Kristine Phillips contributed to this report. 
   
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   An off-duty Arkansas officer was killed after a stray bullet struck his home, police say ||||| Thousands of activist bits and bytes are marching forward to build your page! Just a sec . . . . [loading....] ||||| President Trump Donald John TrumpEx-FBI lawyer won't attend interview with House lawmakers: attorney Trump officials to release migrants with ankle monitors North Korea state media release photos of Kim at potato farm after Pompeo visit MORE is expected to speak at the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) annual meeting this week, a White House official confirmed Sunday. 
   
   The NRA’s annual meeting will take place May 3-6 in Dallas. Vice President Pence is scheduled to speak there on Friday. 
   
   Trump has delivered remarks at each of the past two annual meetings for the gun rights group. 
   
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   CNN first reported on Trump's planned appearance at the annual meeting. 
   
   The speech will come nearly two months after the Trump administration unveiled a series of proposals on school safety and gun restrictions in response to a Feb. 14 shooting at a Parkland, Fla., high school. 
   
   Trump has faced pressure from gun safety advocates and Democratic lawmakers to champion gun law reforms following that shooting, which left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. 
   
   Trump initially voiced support for universal background checks and raising the age limit on certain gun purchases. However, neither was addressed in his administration’s proposal. 
   
   The White House denied that the president had “chickened out” in the face of pressure from the NRA, which met with the president and opposed gun law reforms. 
   
   — Updated at 9:42 p.m.
target: – National Rifle Association members have been told they won't be allowed to pack heat when Mike Pence speaks at its national convention this week—and the irony was not lost on Parkland school shooting survivors, among others. "You're telling me to make the VP safe there aren't any weapons around but when it comes to children they want guns everywhere? Can someone explain this to me?” tweeted former student Matt Deitsch, who helped organize the March for Our Lives rallies. The NRA says "firearms and firearm accessories, knives, or weapons of any kind will be prohibited in the forum" during the vice president's Friday appearance at the Dallas event because of Secret Service regulations, Slate reports. An NRA spokesman tells the Washington Post that even in open-carry states like Texas, it is against the law to bring firearms into areas being visited by Secret Service protectees. Parkland student David Hogg has circulated a petition that urges Pence to cancel the appearance, calling it a "slap in the face" to Americans hurting from gun violence. A similar gun ban was in place when President Trump spoke at the NRA's convention in Atlanta last year. The Hill reports that White House officials have confirmed that Trump also plans to speak at this year's convention, which is being held from Thursday to Sunday and will feature more than 20 acres of firearms exhibits, according to organizers. (In his 2016 speech to the convention, Trump promised to ban gun-free zones nationwide if elected.)