After the Texas House gave final approval to open carry legislation, Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo expressed his discontent on social media.
Acevedo, who has extensively lobbied lawmakers to expand background checks to more gun sales, posted a message Tuesday morning on his Twitter account titled "Open Season For Armed Criminals and Extremists" disapproving of the lawmakers' decision.
“If criminals, drug cartels and extremists had a seat at the policy writing table they couldn’t have come up with a better amendment,” Acevedo wrote. “Through this amendment we are facilitating the victimization of people we are sworn to serve, protect and lead.”
House Bill 910 was approved 101-42 on Monday and will now go to the Texas Senate. The legislation would allow almost 826,000 Texans with a concealed handgun license to openly carry a weapon in a shoulder or belt holster. It also prohibits law enforcement from stopping somebody with a gun to verify that they have a license.
“By prohibiting law enforcement from stopping or detaining to check for CHL (concealed handgun licenses), Texas is authorizing within our state lines any and all criminals to carry a firearm,” Acevedo wrote.
This is not the first time that Acevedo used social media to discuss his views on gun control. In the past, he has debated the need for increased gun restrictions with Twitter users and also drew criticism from conservative bloggers.
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