NORFOLK, Va. — Virginia Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears is scheduled to address a National Rifle Association (NRA) event in Texas on Friday, just days after an elementary school shooting left 21 people dead in a different part of the state.
Earle-Sears, a Republican, is billed as the keynote speaker for a luncheon and auction during the gun-rights group's annual meeting in Houston, taking place on Memorial Day weekend (May 27 to 29).
"After nearly a decade of anti-2A politicians in Virginia progressively stripping rights away from law-abiding citizens, she took them on—and won!" the website for the NRA's Women's Leadership Forum reads.
The event is about a five-hour drive from Uvalde, Texas, the city where the deadly shooting occurred Tuesday. 19 children and two teachers were killed.
Earle-Sears is one of many high-profile conservatives scheduled to appear at the annual meeting, along with former President Donald Trump, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, Sen. Ted Cruz, and others.
In wake of the recent shootings in Uvalde and Buffalo, New York, national Democrats are assailing Republican opposition to restrictions and regulations on guns, something many conservatives and the NRA strongly oppose as a violation of Second Amendment rights.
While Earle-Sears' appearance was announced in early April, some of the attendees are facing criticism for sticking with the event so soon after the tragedy in Uvalde, as well as their support for gun rights.
The Democratic Party of Virginia (DPVA) released a statement Wednesday morning calling on the lieutenant governor to back out of the event.
“Virginians should be in disbelief that our Lt. Governor would speak at an NRA event after an unconscionable Elementary School shooting that left 19 children dead,” DPVA spokesperson Gianni Snidle said in a statement.
He continued: "We call upon the Lt. Governor to not attend this event, but also to denounce the NRA who is complacent in the face of another mass shooting.”
Democrat Eileen Filler-Corn, the former Virginia Speaker of the House, also called on Earle-Sears to "turn the plane around and cancel your Texas NRA fundraiser."
13News Now reached out to Earle-Sears' office for additional confirmation on her appearance in light of the Uvalde shooting. No one has responded.
Following the shooting in Uvalde, Earle-Sears offered her thoughts on Twitter, saying she and her husband were praying for the victims.
"An ill-wind is blowing through our land; a wretched evil that destroys," she tweeted. "Terry and I are praying for the parents, siblings, family members, and friends of Robb Elementary School who are now experiencing the deepest of pains. It is a season we wish on no one."
Earle-Sears made history as the first woman of color elected as Virginia's lieutenant governor. During the 2021 race, she campaigned as a strong supporter of gun rights, even once sharing pictures of herself using a rifle at a gun range.