Attorney General Greg Abbott talks guns
By: Matt S. Dowling
MattSDowling.Com
January 23, 2013
In my interview with Attorney General Greg Abbott I made sure I got his opinion on the 2nd Amendment, especially since the gun control debate is in full swing here in Texas and nationally. He started off by wanting to make sure that the readers of this blog knew that the 2nd Amendment debate isn’t just about guns, but about all the liberties guaranteed to us under the U.S. Constitution. Abbott stated that, “If the government begins to erode any of our liberties, they can erode all of our liberties.” This statement should ring true for most of us and I’m glad General Abbott understands this fact because most elected officials don’t.
Further on in our conversation about guns, General Abbott also brought up why we are having the gun control debate in the first place and that is because of the tragic shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. The mood in the room became somber as he spoke about how no parent should even have to consider the horrifying thought of not being able to pick up their child because they were gun downed at school. However, he did go on to say that, “Whenever we are trying to address a tragedy it should be addressed in a way that will solve it. We are talking about guns, but the debate about what the possible solutions are, aren’t really addressing the problem which is violence in our society.”
Abbott went on to say that people often look to limit our 2nd Amendment rights, but when they do that they don’t solve the problem they were looking to solve. He used the City of Chicago as his first example. Abbott noted their mayor, Rahm Emanuel, bragged about having some of the toughest gun bans in the country and touted they have confiscated more guns than any other city in the U.S. However, when you look at the numbers, Chicago remains one of the most violent cities because of gun crime. Conversely, border towns like El Paso, where its citizens are allowed to concealed carry, can be a relatively safe town, despite the fact they border one of the most violent cities, Juarez, Mexico (where once again citizens face strong gun bans).
I saved the last question of the interview to ask General Abbott if he supported open carry. I wanted to get a clear answer, so I just asked for a “Yes” or “No” answer and he responded with a, “Yes.” He later added that he felt an open carry law would have similar success as the Concealed Handgun License Laws have had in Texas.
I would like to extend a special thanks to Americans for Prosperity Foundation – Texas for helping set up this interview at their RightOnline Conference and to Attorney General Greg Abbott for taking the time to sit down for a one-on-one interview.