After presenting themselves moderate, Texas’ new leaders have already shown their true colors with a slate of gun-grabbing bills.
In a surprise victory, Democrats swept the state. Led by Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa and Sen.-elect James Talarico, Democrats also seized the state House. Their campaigns appealed to moderates, promising affordability for working families. But now, they are already showing their cards by introducing 23 gun-related bills in the state Legislature since Nov. 9, the first day of pre-filing.
Of these, 22 anti-gun bills have been introduced in the state House, and one has been introduced in the state Senate, where Republicans maintain a slim majority—the last bastion against total Democrat domination.
One of these bills, HB 218, would effectively create “red flag” laws, allowing officials to seize Texans’ guns for up to a year for unproven allegations of dangerous mental illness. Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt said this would create a statewide gun-confiscation scheme allowing a judge to order Texans’ guns taken without due process.
Another, HB 173, would make it a state jail felony to transfer semiautomatic rifles to anyone younger than 21, with narrow exceptions for law enforcement, military personnel, and temporary sporting use.
Meanwhile, HB 613 would require background checks for private gun sales and transfers, making it a crime to transfer firearms without one.
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HB 659 would go a step further, creating a state gun registry—collecting the IDs of buyers who purchase multiple guns or magazines in a week and sending them to the Texas Department of Public Safety and the local sheriff’s office. This could be a precursor to the state seizing Texans’ guns, much like California started using its registry in 2006 to take guns.
While Texas currently protects “constitutional carry,” allowing residents to carry guns in accordance with the Second Amendment, Hinojosa has already shown a desire to change this. In an interview on Oct. 21, she said that “people should have a background check to carry a gun.”
While federally licensed firearm dealers must still perform background checks, Hinojosa’s proposal would impose an additional requirement on those carrying handguns. Since the pre-filing, she has not spoken on any of the proposed gun bills. But her past speaks volumes.
In 2019, she wrote an op-ed describing Texas gun culture, saying the “sight of someone carrying a gun still seems unnatural to me.” The same year, she also voted against Texans’ right to protect themselves in their homes and voted against allowing licensed handgun carry in places of worship. In 2021, she voted against constitutional carry and voted against letting travelers store guns in their hotel rooms.
Our new Democrat rulers have rightly raised alarm for the many Texans who believe in the Second Amendment. But while Republicans still control the Senate, it’s likely the Democrats won’t succeed in taking away residents’ guns.
Hinojosa cannot overturn constitutional carry through an executive order, as any changes to the law would require legislation and they must comply with state and federal protections. While most of these proposed bills were introduced in the House, they would still need to pass the Senate, which is unlikely with a Republican majority.
While Democrats spent much of their campaigns promising to tackle affordability, they introduced a wave of anti-gun measures before session even began. This disconnect raises the question: Will they actually deliver on the items they promised? Or will they suddenly foist an anti-Texan agenda on the state they just subverted?
We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of the Daily Signal.
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