Daily News

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (Chris Keane/Reuters) A complete campaign implosion apparently hasn't dampened Rick Perry's interest in the presidency.

When the Texas Republican governor, speaking Monday to a local tea party group, was asked if he would run for president again, he sounded potentially interested in a future bid and noted that he would make "a number of decisions" about his future next summer.

"It was an extraordinary experience. I mean, one that I wouldn't trade," Perry said of his presidential campaign. "And looking back on it and knowing even, you know, [that it was] unsuccessful, I would do it again."

Perry's campaign for president began to tank in November 2011 when during a nationally televised debate he failed to recall the third government agency he would eliminate if elected. "I can't. Oops," he uttered after struggling on the Michigan debate stage.

When asked about gun control on Monday after Friday's shooting in Newtown, Conn., Perry, a strong gun rights advocate, stated support for carrying weapons on public property in Texas.

"You should be able to carry your handgun anywhere in this state," Perry said to wide applause.

"We have to do everything we can to make sure that those types of evils are restricted the best that it can be," he said. Later he added, "One of the things I hope we don't see from our federal government is this knee-jerk reaction from Washington, D.C., when there is an event that occurs that they come in and think they know the answer."