Protesters holding signs and crosses with photos of victims from the Texas elementary school shooting demonstrated Friday outside the National Rifle Association's annual convention in Houston, as the American gun lobby came under pressure after the massacre.

Attendance was dampened and speakers and featured musical acts stayed away as about 500 protesters, some shouting "NRA go away," and "Shame, it could be your kids today," jeered attendees outside the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Tuesday's fatal shooting of 19 pupils and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas, by an 18-year-old gunman equipped with an AR-15 style semiautomatic rifle, again focused attention on the NRA, the biggest gun lobby in the U.S. and a major donor to Congress members, mostly Republicans.