 
 
 Vice President Pence is scheduled to speak at the annual NRA gathering in Dallas on Friday. 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.  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, 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. 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?” https://t.co/f4wgNhJ7RI — Fred Guttenberg (@fred_guttenberg) April 28, 2018 
 
 The NRA did not respond to a request for comment. “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?” 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. 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’?
– 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.)