RNC booth hosts AR-15 giveaway, days after Trump assassination attempt

Days after Donald Trump was shot with an AR-15-style weapon, at a campaign rally, attendees at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee can get their hands on one for free.

The assault weapon is part of a giveaway at a booth for the U.S. Concealed Carry Association, an advocacy organization that promotes gun ownership for safety purposes.

On their table, the group had a flyer promoting the AR-15 giveaway from Daniel Defense, an arms manufacturer whose firearms were used in the 2022 Robb Elementary School mass shooting and found in the 2017 Las Vegas mass shooter’s stockpile.

Those interested can enter the giveaway by following the QR code on the flyer to a browser that asks for an email and phone number, according to Rolling Stone.

A representative at the booth told Rolling Stone that “some people” expressed surprise at the giveaway but defended the firearm as “one of the most effective and important tools that we have.”

The Independent has asked the U.S. Concealed Carry Association for comment.

The U.S. Concealed Carry Association said in a statement after the shooting that they were “heartbroken” by the attempted assassination of Trump and that “political violence is abhorrent and has no place in America.”

The group says they “oppose any legislative efforts at the state and federal level that week to strip law-abiding Americans of their Second Amendment right without due process.”

On June 13, Thomas Matthew Crooks shot Trump using a semi-automatic AR-15 style rifle at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. Federal law enforcement has not released the exact make and model of the firearm.

The former president suffered a minor injury to his right ear. Rally-goer Michael Comperatore, 50, was killed and two other men were injured.

The AR-15 was first developed for military use in the 1950s by the company ArmaLite Rifle before the patent was sold to Colt’s Manufacturing Company. Other gun manufacturers have based their own version of the AR-15 on the original design.

Over the last 20 years, AR-15-style rifles have become extremely popular with roughly one in every 20 American adults owning one. The lightweight firearms are easy to use, have little recoil and can be customized with accessories.

But it is also one of the deadliest weapons. It has been used in five of the 10 deadliest mass shootings since 2002.

Nine states have passed laws banning the sale and possession of the AR-15 but that does not apply to all assault-style rifles.