GOA Holds Press Conference on Capitol Grounds in Austin

Texas Governor Abbott Squeezed from Both Sides as Guns Get Their Day in Austin

If he cares about his public reception at all, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott can’t be happy with his Thursday, the day he convened the first of a series of roundtable discussions he’s called in the wake of the Aug. 3 massacre in El Paso.

Gun rights advocates [from Gun Owners of America] held a rally of their own in Austin, galled that Abbott was even considering taking action to address mass shootings while Texas’ left raged at the governor after news outlets got their hands on a provocative fundraising letter sent out by Abbott the day before the El Paso shooting.

Stephen Willeford speaks at a GOA press conference while holding up his AR-15—the very one he used to stop the Sutherland Springs church shooter. (Nick Wagner, American Statesman)

Stephen Willeford, the Sutherland Springs resident who shot the First Baptist Church Sutherland Springs shooter in November 2017, headlined a rally for gun-right maximalist group Gun Owners of America outside the capitol. Willeford, holding the AR-15 he’d used to take down the shooter, said one change to Texas’ gun laws is too many.

“Gun owners are done,” Willeford said, according to the Texas Tribune . “We don’t want any more restriction. It does not stop the bad guys.”

Inside the capitol, Abbott gave a brief introduction in front of media members, then shooed the press away while the roundtable had more than three hours of discussion. When reporters were let back in, Abbott didn’t take any questions, but he did speak for the group.

Read more at the Dallas Observer

Go here to see El Paso residents speaking out against gun control (video and press release).