Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is backing out of a scheduled in-person appearance at the National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston on Friday and will travel to Uvalde, where a gunman killed 19 children and two teachers days earlier in the state’s worst school shooting in history. He will instead give prerecorded remarks to be played at the convention.

Abbott’s decision, provided by a spokesperson for his office, comes after the massacre reignited a national debate about firearm access — and renewed criticism of Republican officials who have long resisted and blocked attempts to strengthen gun control laws in a country where mass shootings have become frequent.

On Friday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced he would also be pulling out of the conference.....

Cruz, though, stood firm in his commitment to attend.

“I’m going to be there because what Democrats and the press try to do in the wake of every mass shooting is they try to demonize law-abiding gun owners, try to demonize the NRA,” Cruz told a CBS reporter.