Even in the shadow of this week’s mass shooting at a Texas elementary school, former President Donald Trump went ahead with a speech at the National Rifle Association's annual meeting in Houston that kicked off Friday.

Hundreds of businesses did the same and also participated at the event.

The NRA lists over 600 companies as participating in the exhibitors' portion of this weekend's gathering. The vast exhibit hall will operate all weekend with the website touting "over 14 acres of the latest guns and gear from the most popular companies in the industry." Photos from the event on Friday showed a wide range of weapons on display, similar to previous NRA gatherings.

The large business presence comes amid a wave of attendee dropouts after 19 children and 2 adults were killed in Uvalde, Texas. “American Pie” singer Don McLean was one singer scheduled to perform but withdrew and told news outlets “it would be disrespectful” to proceed in the shooting's aftermath. Texas Governor Greg Abbott also backed out of plans for in-person remarks.

At least one business did pull out of the event. Daniel Defense, the manufacturer of the rifle used by the gunman in Uvalde, announced it would skip the event, adding on its website it's “deeply saddened by the tragic events in Texas this week.”

But Yahoo Finance reached out to dozens more businesses listed and none offered up plans to withdraw from the event after the shooting.

‘[N]ot an expression of political opinion’

Leica Sport Optics is one example. The company is best known for cameras but also makes scopes for guns and binoculars for hunting. The company responded in a statement to Yahoo Finance by saying it doesn't comment on politics. “Accordingly, participation in the NRA Show is not an expression of political opinion," the company said. "Our focus is solely on the visitors who are interested in our sport optics products.”

Target Sports USA, which specializes in selling bulk ammunition online, will also participate. Its CEO, Miodrag Delmic, acknowledged that the convention “will certainly emphasize the need to work on mechanisms of firearm abuse prevention and mitigation of gun violence.”