Texas lawmakers shied away from getting rid of the carry ban at the state fairgrounds in Dallas this session, but they did pass several bills aimed at protecting the rights of gun owners.
As NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action reports, Governor Greg Abbott signed multiple pieces of pro-2A legislation into law over the weekend, including SB 706, which provides universal recognition of out-of-state carry licenses; and SB 1596, which removes short-barreled rifles and short-barreled shotguns from the list of prohibited weapons in Texas.
Abbott gave his approval to SB 1362, which prohibits “the recognition, service, or enforcement of red flag orders unless explicitly authorized under Texas law.” Though the state doesn’t have a “red flag” law in place, and preemption would likely block any county or city that attempted to adopt a local measure, SB 1362 still offers protections against a potential “red flag” statute adopted at the federal level… much to the chagrin of anti-gun activists.
Texas was already among 29 states that had not adopted a red-flag law for firearms before state Rep. Cole Hefner (R), who sponsored the bill, pitched it as a bulwark against “law-abiding citizens” losing their Second Amendment rights without due process.“We don’t need magistrates or judges determining, without due process, someone’s constitutional rights,” Hefner said at a committee hearing in May.Nicole Golden, executive director of the nonpartisan group Texas Gun Sense, called the idea that red-flag laws erode due process “misinformation.”
“If you look at other states’ bills, they’re built specifically with those protections in mind,” said Golden, whose organization opposed the red-flag ban in Texas.
No, they’re not. Every “red flag” statute that I’m aware of allows for ex parte hearings where an Extreme Risk Protection Order can be granted without the subject of that order even being aware that a hearing is being held. They might get the opportunity to refute the allegations of dangerousness a couple of weeks after an order has been granted, but they can be entirely shut out of the initial proceedings. That’s hardly robust due process protections, and that’s far from the only issue with “red flag” laws.
Abbott also approved HB3053, which prohibits municipalities and counties from adopting or participating in gun “buyback” schemes. It will be interesting to see if Democrat officials in cities like Houston and San Antonio (which have recently held compensated confiscation events) try to challenge the ban in court or come up with some other way to signal their hostility towards the Second Amendment.
Unfortunately, the Republican-controlled legislature also failed to approve bills that would have lowered the age to carry a handgun from 21 to 18 and repealed the prohibition on lawful carry in K-12 schools, hospitals, and establishments that derive more than 51% of its income through alcohol sales. Some of those “sensitive places” are being challenged in federal court by the Firearms Policy Coalition and several individual plaintiffs, but while Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has said in court filings that he agrees the “gun-free zones” have no basis in the national tradition of gun ownership, he’s also trying to keep the laws in place by arguing the plaintiffs don’t have standing to sue and the Texas Department of Public Safety isn’t actually responsible for enforcing the prohibitions.
This wasn’t a bad session for Texas gun owners, by any means. There’s a lot to celebrate here, especially removing the state-level bans on short-barreled firearms. There’s still more work to be done though, especially when it comes to who can lawfully bear arms and where they can do so. The legislature isn’t scheduled to be back in session until January, 2027, so there’s plenty of time for 2A activists to engage in some grassroots advocacy and lobbying between now and then… as well as adding to the ranks of true Second Amendment supporters in next year’s legislative elections.
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