Abbott affirms support for open-carry

Texas Governor elect Greg Abbott addresses the audience at the GOP election night party in Austin on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Texas Governor elect Greg Abbott addresses the audience at the GOP election night party in Austin on Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2014. Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 45 Caption Close Abbott affirms support for open-carry 1 / 45 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN - Attorney General Greg Abbott affirmed his support for allowing Texans to openly carry handguns at his first press conference after being elected governor.

“Throughout the campaign I announced my support for open carry in Texas,” said Abbott when asked about the issue at the Texas Capitol.

Abbott said Texas is one of only a handful of states that doesn't allow open carry of handguns.

“If open carry is good enough for Massachusetts, it's good enough for the state of Texas,” Abbott said. “If an open carry bill is passed by the House and Senate and arrives at my desk I will sign it into law.”

According to the OpenCarry.org website, which promotes the right to openly carry holstered handguns, Massachusetts “is not a traditional open carry state,” but it's not a crime for those who have a Class A license there to open carry.

Current Texas law allows people to get a license to carry a concealed handgun. They can carry rifles openly if it is not done in a threatening way. It does allow people to carry long guns.

Abbott's focus was on issues including education, jobs, border security and infrastructure needs.

Asked about the Texas Enterprise Fund, Abbott said it's on the table to be looked at. He said it is defective in some ways and must be re-evaluated to see if it is effective and whether it can be improved. If it's not effective, he said it should be eliminated in favor of other ways to make Texas competitive in luring jobs.

Abbott said he has already had discussions with Sen. Dan Patrick, the Houston Republican elected lieutenant governor, about the issues they'll be working on. He met Wednesday with House Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, with whom he shared a lunch of chicken verde enchiladas, Spanish rice, black beans and chocolate cake.

Abbott, who named first Assistant Attorney General Daniel Hodge to coordinate his transition, said he plans meeting with state agency leaders. He said his first such meeting is Wednesday with Dr. Kyle Janek, Texas Health and Human Services executive commissioner, to get up to date on the Ebola issue.

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