The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee has dropped plans to host a National Rifle Association fundraising dinner and gun auction.
In response to questions from The Associated Press regarding the Country Music Hall of Fame’s “no weapons allowed” policy, a spokesperson said the NRA event will no longer take place at the museum.
Originally scheduled for April 17, the fundraising dinner at the Hall of Fame was a planned part of the National Rifle Association’s annual meeting, to be held in downtown Nashville. The $500 tickets for the event (or $5,000 for a reserved table for 10) were meant to support the political efforts of the NRA’s lobbying division, the Institute for Legislative Action.
“This highly anticipated event attracts celebrities, industry executives and a host of Second Amenment supporters from around the country,” the NRA said in its description for the dinner and auction, which has been relocated to a hotel. “This year’s event will feature impressive one-of-a-kind items made and 100 percent donated just for the auction, including engraved firearms, suppressors, knives, fine art, hunts, optics and trips from around the globe.”
Loaded or unloaded weapons are not allowed in the Country Music Hall of Fame, either concealed or carried openly. The museum’s director of communications confirmed to the AP “the organization will not be holding their event at the museum” after discussions between the museum and the NRA regarding plans to auction weapons at the event.
“The NRA was asked to change our firearms policy at our auction. We respectfully declined and made alternate arrangements at a venue with additional capacity,” an NRA spokesperson told Newsweek. “We would like to thank the Country Music Hall of Fame for their consideration.”
