Gov. Greg Abbott uses NRA speech in Dallas to amplify his endorsement of Donald Trump

Gov. Greg Abbott used a short address Saturday to welcome the National Rifle Association convention delegates to Dallas and to emphasize his support for Donald Trump's return to the presidency.

The appearance at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, which preceded Trump's own remarks to the overwhelmingly conservative audience, provided Abbott an opportunity to boast about the gun-friendly legislation passed in Texas under his watch.

"Since I became governor, Texas has passed more significant Second Amendment protections than any other state in the United States of America," Abbott, a three-term Republican, said as he listed such measures as allowing the carrying of handguns in limited places on the campuses of public colleges and universities and allowing for the unlicensed open carrying of handguns.

Abbott also touted his $11 billion border initiative known as Operation Lone Star in which he deployed thousands of National Guard members and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers to the Texas-Mexico border. He dovetailed that message with his ongoing criticism of Democratic President Joe Biden's border and immigration policies, and that set the stage for his words of praise for Trump as the 2024 campaign heats up heading toward the Nov. 5 election.

"Donald Trump is the antidote to Joe Biden," Abbott told the cheering delegates. "In the history of America, no president has done more to secure our border. No president has fought harder to protect your Second Amendment rights."

Abbott made no mention of his decision on Thursday to grant a pardon to Daniel Perry, who was convicted of murder and sentenced to 25 years in prison for shooting a man at a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest in Austin. The jury rejected Perry's plea of self-defense, but in his pardon, Abbott touted Texas' "stand your ground" law and said it should have been applied in the case.

Although Abbott did not bring the matter up, NRA President Charles Cotton alluded to it in his introductory remarks as the governor prepared to take the stage.

"I would be here with you too long to list all the things he's done for gun owners," Cotton said of Abbott. "And not just owning guns, but being (able) to use them in self-defense."

Outside the convention hall, the gun safety advocacy organization Giffords staged a rally to protest the NRA gathering. The organization was founded by former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 shooting attack in her home state of Arizona.

The demonstration featured a self-described gun owner and Second Amendment supporter to deliver the message, according to a news release from the group.

"Why is it easier to purchase large-capacity weapons used in many of the country’s worst mass shootings, killing classrooms of children," said Scott Spreier, a North Texas volunteer leader for Giffords, "than it is for hunters like me to legally shoot a single dove, which requires not only a license, but also gun safety training and a limit of only three shotgun shells?"

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Abbott touts Trump, border security and gun rights in NRA appearance