On the first day of bill filing for the 90th Legislature, they filed red flag gun confiscation, gun registration and gun bans instead.

Democratic lawmakers filed at least 22 bills on November 9 that would restrict law-abiding gun owners.

You can see every bill on Texas Gun Rights’ public bill tracker.

Red Flag Gun Confiscation, Statewide

The centerpiece is Rep. Ann Johnson’s HB 218. A family or household member, or a police officer, files a sworn application alleging you are dangerous because of a serious mental illness.

If a judge finds “reasonable cause” in that paperwork alone, the judge may issue an order “without further notice to the respondent and without a hearing,” according to the bill text.

Under that temporary order, a judge can force you to surrender your guns within 24 hours, turn over your License to Carry and submit to a mental health examination. You may wait up to 14 days for a hearing. The final order lasts a year and can be renewed.

No crime. No charge. Your guns are gone before you can answer the accusation.

HB 218 also repeals Chapter 7C of the Code of Criminal Procedure, the Anti-Red Flag Act Texas passed in 2025 to ban red flag orders in this state.

“This is what we’ve been warning gun owners of,” said Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt.

“On day one, the gun confiscation lobby and their puppets filed a bill that would not only undo our ban on red flag laws, but implement a statewide red flag law that takes your guns without any crime, without a conviction and before you ever get your day in court. There is no common ground on confiscation, and Republicans in the Senate had better not go looking for any.”

Moody’s HB 660 piles on, ordering people under protective orders or bond conditions, many never convicted of anything, to dispose of every gun they own within 10 days.

Gun Registration Through the Back Door

HB 613 by Rep. Suleman Lalani makes it a crime to sell or give a gun to anyone unless the transfer runs through a federally licensed dealer’s background check.

The bill text writes in no exception for family. Hand your son a shotgun and you could face a Class A misdemeanor. That is universal gun registration.

Rep. Joe Moody’s HB 659 forces dealers to report anyone who buys two or more guns, or four or more magazines, within five business days. The report, including a copy of the buyer’s ID, goes to DPS, which must send it to the buyer’s county sheriff within 24 hours.

The bill promises the data won’t be used for a registry, then exempts the federal background check system and state and national crime databases from that promise.

A government file on gun buyers is a registry.

Gun Bans, Starting With Young Adults

Sen. Judith Zaffirini’s SB 80 makes it a crime for Texans under 21 to buy or possess an “assault weapon,” defined broadly enough to cover AR-15s with a pistol grip or adjustable stock, semi-auto shotguns with detachable magazines, and pistols with threaded barrels.

Lalani’s HB 606 goes further: no Texan under 21 could buy or possess any firearm at all. A 20-year-old with a deer rifle becomes a criminal. If a law-abiding Texan is old enough to fight and die for this country, they are old enough to be trusted with a firearm.

HB 610 (Lalani) bans transferring any gun to adults under 21. HB 173 (Moody), HB 857 (Rep. Rafael Anchía), HB 806 (Rep. Ron Reynolds) and HB 771 (Rep.-elect Pooja Sethi) make selling semi-auto rifles to them a state jail felony. Sethi’s version has no exceptions at all, not even for military, police or a parent’s loan. Sen. Roland Gutierrez’s SB 308 bans 3D-printed guns and makes it a crime to share the files.

More Gun-Free Zones

Rep. Erin Gámez’s HB 712 cracks open state preemption so cities and counties can ban guns in public libraries, with no exemption for License to Carry holders. Rep.-elect Samantha Lopez-Resendez’s HB 960 makes it a crime to carry a visible handgun in a public library, license or not.

It is a refile of James Talarico’s 2025 bill.

Worst of all, HB 776 makes it a crime to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of school property or inside a school bus without the school’s written authorization.

License to Carry holders get no exception for the surrounding 1,000-foot zone. The only defenses are being at your own home, or keeping the gun stored in your car while you drive through or stop for a legitimate reason.

In much of urban Texas, that turns entire neighborhoods into gun-free sitting duck zones.

New Gun Crimes

Other day-one bills expand gun crimes.

Lalani’s HB 609 raises the penalty for criminally negligent firearm access by a child from a Class C to a Class A misdemeanor, even when no one is hurt.

Moody’s HB 658 raises the age covered to 18 and creates a third-degree felony, carrying a lifetime federal gun ban upon conviction, when a child fires a gun and kills or seriously injures someone who does not live with the child.

Rep. Martinez’s HB 103 spreads the reckless-discharge crime to every inch of any county over 500,000 people, including rural private land, and Anchía’s HB 859 makes reckless discharge in a big city a state jail felony.

And Constitutional Carry is in their sights.

In an October interview with The New Yorker, Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa recounted telling voters she opposed Constitutional Carry: “What you call constitutional carry, I call permitless carry, and I think people should have a background check to carry a gun.”

She voted against it.

The Senate Is the Last Firewall

Democrats won the governor’s and lieutenant governor’s races, but Republicans held the Texas Senate. Every bill on this list dies there if Senate Republicans refuse to deal.

On election night, state Sen. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) said, “Texas stands as long as the Texas Senate Republican caucus holds the line. We will.”

Gun owners will hold him to it, because a Republican Senate has never been a guarantee. Texas Republicans flirted with red flag gun confiscation in 2018.

In 2023, they passed Sen. Joan Huffman’s SB 728, codifying part of the Biden-Cornyn gun control law by sending juvenile mental health records to the federal background check system.

And Texas Gun Rights had to fight Republicans for nearly a decade before Texas became the 21st Constitutional Carry state.

Universal gun registration, red flag confiscation and gun bans for young adults are exactly where Republicans cave across the country. All three were among the first bills filed in Austin.

There is no “common ground” here. A red flag compromise is still confiscation. A “reasonable” background check expansion is still registration.

Democrats promised to lower your bills. They filed gun confiscation instead.

NO CONFISCATION. NO REGISTRATION. NO COMPROMISE.

Sign the petition instructing the Republican Senate to HOLD THE LINE against red flag gun confiscation and gun registration.

Texas Gun Rights is warning that Senfronia Thompson’s bid for Speaker is about more than who holds the gavel. It could put a lawmaker who backed a sweeping gun-control agenda in position to help move that agenda through the Texas House.

Thompson’s record includes a signed demand for red flag laws and expanded background checks, along with votes against Constitutional Carry and other protections Texas gun owners fought to secure.

A claim of sufficient support is not a completed Speaker election. But gun owners do not need to wait for that election to examine the record of the person seeking the job.

Thompson Signed Onto the Gun-Control Agenda

On September 4, 2019, Thompson signed a House Democratic Caucus letter to Governor Greg Abbott calling for an emergency legislative session on gun control. The letter lists “Senfronia Thompson, District 141,” among its signatories.

Its proposed agenda included:

• Enacting “Red Flag” gun confiscation without due process.
• Universal Gun Registration
• Banning sales of standard capacity magazines
• Restricting open carry.

Her Votes Opposed the Rights Texans Won

Thompson’s voting record supplies another clear measure of where she stands.

In 2021, she voted against final House passage of HB 1927, the Constitutional Carry legislation that removed the government-permit requirement for eligible adults to carry handguns.

She also voted against SB 20, protecting hotel guests’ ability to carry and store handguns and handgun ammunition.

In 2019, Thompson voted against SB 535, which removed the special criminal prohibition on licensed handgun carry in places of worship.

Those votes affected ordinary Texans carrying for personal protection, traveling with a handgun, or attending church. When lawmakers moved to expand their freedom, Thompson voted no.

“Senfronia Thompson’s record gives gun owners every reason to be on alert,” said Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt.

“She signed a demand for red flag laws and expanded background checks, and she voted against Constitutional Carry. A friendly conversation in the Capitol does not erase that record. Texas Gun Rights will judge House leadership by what it does to our freedoms, not by how warmly it greets us in the hallway.”

Watch the Rules, Not Just the Gavel

The Speaker’s influence over committee appointments and bill referrals makes the position consequential for every gun owner in Texas.

The next fight will include the House rules, committee assignments, and decisions about which proposals receive hearings and advance. Gun owners should scrutinize those decisions rather than assume that familiar faces or bipartisan committee titles guarantee protection.

Texas Gun Rights will oppose red flag confiscation and gun registration regardless of which politician advances them. Republican senators must be ready to stop those proposals, not negotiate a smaller surrender and call it a victory.

Chip in below to help Texas Gun Rights fight red flag confiscation and gun registration in the Texas House.

The politicians who backed red flag gun confiscation are about to take control of the Texas Governor’s mansion and preside over the Texas Senate.

Texas gun owners suffered a major setback on November 3. Election results put Democrats in every statewide executive office, while Democrats are will control the Texas House.

Gina Hinojosa will replace Greg Abbott as Governor. Vikki Goodwin will replace Dan Patrick as Lieutenant Governor. Nathan Johnson will become Attorney General.

But Republicans held their majority in the Texas Senate.

That majority is now the last legislative firewall against a gun confiscation lobby with its biggest opening in decades. Texas Gun Rights is calling on gun owners to make sure it holds.

Their Gun Control Agenda Is Already Known

The incoming leadership’s support for gun control is not speculation. It is documented in legislation they helped write.

Goodwin authored House Bill 432 in 2025, which would have enacted universal gun registration by criminalizing private firearm transfers that don’t first go through a licensed dealer’s background check.

Red flag confiscation has an equally clear paper trail.

In 2019, Democrat State Rep. Joe Moody authored House Bill 131, establishing a proposed system of extreme risk protective orders, better known as “Red Flag” gun confiscation without due process. Hinojosa and Goodwin were coauthors.

The bill’s text authorized  firearm confiscations without first notifying the gun owner or holding a hearing. It would require firearms to be surrendered to law enforcement without any finding of criminal wrongdoing.

Goodwin later authored her own red flag proposal, HB 478 in 2025. Moody filed another version, HB 893.

They also targeted young adults’ access to commonly owned rifles. Moody’s HB 1556 and Goodwin’s HB 384, both filed in 2025, proposed prohibiting transfers of specified semiautomatic rifles to military-aged people younger than 21.

These politicians did not merely applaud gun control from the sidelines; they spearheaded it.

The Speaker’s Race Does Not Change the Threat

According to Quorum Report’s November 5 reporting, sources close to State Rep. Senfronia Thompson expect her to announce November 6 that she has enough support to become the next House Speaker.

Whether Thompson ultimately claims the gavel or another Democrat emerges, the legislative record is already clear.

Hinojosa, Goodwin, Moody, and Thompson all voted against Constitutional Carry in 2021. All four also opposed legislation protecting hotel guests’ ability to carry and store handguns and ammunition.

Hinojosa, Goodwin, and Thompson additionally voted against removing the special criminal prohibition on licensed handgun carry in places of worship.

The Attorney General’s office presents another concern: the office currently home to Ken Paxton, the nation’s most pro-gun Attorney General, will now be held by Nathan Johnson.

Johnson’s own published positions also include universal gun registration, “red flag” gun confiscation, waiting periods, and permitting requirements.

Republicans Must Refuse the “Common Ground” Trap

Universal gun registration and red flag confiscation are the biggest immediate threats gun owners must put first.

They are also the proposals Republicans too often entertain when they start looking for “common ground” with the gun confiscation lobby.

A Republican Senate majority guarantees nothing if its members negotiate away the rights they were elected to defend. Gun owners cannot accept registration or confiscation simply because a Republican helped write the compromise.

“The Senate is now the last firewall between Texas gun owners and the gun confiscation lobby’s agenda,” said Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt.

“Every Senator who claims to support the Second Amendment is going to have to prove it. No common ground. No compromise. Do not give an inch.”

That means stopping registration and red flag confiscation outright, defending Constitutional Carry, and rejecting bans on America’s most popular rifle and standard-capacity magazines.

Gun Owners Still Have Pro-Gun Legislators

November 3 was a serious defeat, but it was not a total defeat.

23 Texas House candidates and four Texas Senate candidates listed on TXGR’s One Big Beautiful Ballot won their races. That means they’ve given written survey commitments meeting TXGR’s 100% pro-gun standards.

The Senate winners include Bob Hall, David Cook, Trent Ashby, and Brett Ligon. House winners include Brian Harrison, Brent Money, Cole Hefner, Katrina Pierson, Wes Virdell, Mike Olcott, Shelley Luther, Andy Hopper, Mitch Little, Carrie Isaac, David Lowe, and Mark Dorazio, among others.

Those commitments give gun owners firm ground to stand upon.

With bill filing opening on Monday November 9 for the session beginning January 12, 2027, we will be counting on these legislators to not only hold the line on gun rights but also to continue going on the offensive.

Regarding the Republican Senators, we cannot allow their remaining majority to negotiate away our freedoms. Gun owners must make the Senate firewall hold.

Chip in below to help Texas Gun Rights mobilize gun owners and fight gun registration and red flag confiscation in Austin.

Texas Gun Rights is preparing for the 90th Texas Legislature with two priorities: defend the freedoms Texans already won and keep fighting for the protections that remain unfinished.

Bill filing opens Monday, November 9. When lawmakers return to Austin on January 12, 2027, TXGR will face a dramatically different political environment from the one that produced Constitutional Carry and the Anti-Red Flag Act.

That changes the legislative strategy. It does not change the principles.

Defense comes first. Offense is not abandoned.

Defend What Texas Gun Owners Already Won

Constitutional Carry, the Anti-Red Flag Act, and Stand Your Ground protections must remain intact.

TXGR will oppose attempts to repeal those protections, carve exceptions into them, or rebuild restrictions under the guise of modest reforms.

The 2025 Anti-Red Flag Act, Senate Bill 1362, established state protections against the recognition and enforcement of certain extreme-risk protective orders. Defending that law and stopping new confiscation schemes must go hand in hand.

Constitutional Carry must be protected against attempts to restore government permission requirements. Texans’ legal protections for defending themselves must not be weakened.

TXGR will also fight universal gun registration schemes on private firearm transfers, bans on America’s most popular rifle, and restrictions on standard-capacity magazines.

Republican senators must understand that their job is to stop these attacks, not negotiate a smaller surrender.

“No gun registration. No red flag confiscation. No rollback of the freedoms Texans already won,” said Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt.

“Defense is not an excuse to abandon our unfinished agenda, and compromise is not a substitute for holding the line.”

Keep the Unfinished Pro-Gun Agenda Moving

Texas Gun Rights will continue pressing lawmakers to address the restrictions that remain on the books. A harder path to passage does not make those restrictions acceptable.

Second Amendment Preservation Act. Texas should stop supplying state resources to enforce unconstitutional federal gun control. TXGR will keep pushing legislation that puts that principle into practice. State noncooperation would not repeal federal law, but Texas should not help Washington violate Texans’ rights.

Kyle’s Law. The right to defend yourself must mean more than surviving an attack only to face a second ordeal for exercising that right. TXGR will pursue civil-liability protections and recovery of legal expenses in qualifying self-defense cases, strengthening protections for people who lawfully defend themselves.

End the 2A tax. Exercising a constitutional right should not be treated as an opportunity for government to collect another payment. Ending the tax burden on the right to keep and bear arms remains part of TXGR’s unfinished agenda.

Eliminate gun-free sitting duck zones. Government restrictions should not leave law-abiding Texans defenseless while doing nothing to stop an attacker. TXGR will keep fighting to restore lawful carry where those restrictions deny people the means to protect themselves.

Restore gun rights for nonviolent felons. TXGR will continue challenging permanent disarmament based on nonviolent felony convictions and pressing for a path to restoring Second Amendment rights.

These priorities do not disappear because gun grabbers are at the helm. We will not surrender. TXGR will keep pressing for bills, demanding public positions from lawmakers, and make sure their constituencies know where they stand on the issues.

Filing legislation is not a promise of passage. It is a refusal to let unfinished fights disappear from the agenda.

Push for a Statewide Ban on Flock Surveillance

One offensive opportunity deserves particular attention: ending automated license-plate surveillance.

TXGR’s DeFlock Texas campaign is pushing to stop surveillance networks that turn ordinary travel into searchable records.

For gun owners, the stakes are concrete. Trips to gun stores, shooting ranges, and gun rights meetings should not become a government-accessible trail of lawful activity.

Cities pulling cameras down is progress. A statewide prohibition is how Texans prevent the same surveillance from returning under another contract or in another jurisdiction.

The good news is, in spite of being an enemy to gun owners, Governor-elect Hinojosa made banning flock cameras a key talking point in her campaign. Gun owners must take advantage of that.

Turn the Agenda Into Grassroots Pressure

A legislative agenda accomplishes nothing if lawmakers never feel pressure to act on it.

TXGR will scrutinize filed bills, expose threats before they gain momentum, document legislators’ positions, and mobilize members through alerts, direct mail, calls, and a sustained Capitol presence.

On March 4, 2027, TXGR will also bring gun owners to Austin for Gun Owner Legislative Day (GOLD). Lawmakers need to face the Texans whose rights are at stake, not just lobbyists asking them to compromise.

Members must be ready to act before committee hearings and floor votes, while their pressure can still change the outcome. Written promises must become action when it counts.

Defend what Texans won. Keep advancing what remains unfinished. Make every lawmaker answer for where they stand.

Chip in below to help Texas Gun Rights fund the legislative alerts, grassroots mobilization, and sustained pressure this fight demands.

Democrats have won control of the U.S. House and Senate, putting politicians who want more federal gun control in position to set congressional agendas when the new Congress takes office in January.

The election did not erase the Second Amendment. It changed who controls the congressional machinery that can be used to attack it.

Registration and Confiscation Move Back to the Front

One prospective committee chairman has already identified his priorities.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told The Banner he would pursue a universal gun registration scheme covering private gun sales if he becomes chairman of the Democratic Caucus.

Gun owners should also expect renewed efforts to expand “red flag” gun confiscation, a policy to disarm people before they have an opportunity to contest the allegations.

Bans on commonly owned firearms and magazines remain part of the threat, too. Democrats have already introduced the Assault Weapons Ban of 2025 in the current Congress. A new Congress gives incoming leaders another opportunity to pursue that agenda.

None of those proposals becomes law merely because Democrats won an election. But control of committees and floor agendas gives their supporters opportunities they did not have under Republican majorities.

Texas Republicans Have One Less Seat.

The Texas congressional results make the national setback especially striking.

Republicans currently hold 25 of Texas’ 38 U.S. House seats in Congress. The mid-decade redistricting plan targeted five additional Republican seats, aiming for a 30–8 delegation.

Instead, Republicans will go into the new Congress with a 24–14 Republican-Democratic split.

Republicans gained one of the five targeted seats, District 32, but lost two previously Republican seats. Democrat Bobby Pulido defeated Monica De La Cruz in District 15. Democrat Katy Padilla Stout defeated Brandon Herrera in District 23, which was vacant following Tony Gonzales’ resignation.

But party labels alone do not establish a lawmaker’s commitment to the Second Amendment.

TXGR will judge Republicans and Democrats by their records and actions, not assume every Republican seat guarantees a dependable pro-gun vote.

Trump’s Veto Is a Barrier, Not Permission to Check Out

President Trump retains the constitutional authority to veto legislation. Overriding a veto requires two-thirds support in each chamber.

The Senate also retains its cloture threshold for most legislation, normally requiring 60 votes to end debate. Winning a Senate majority is not the same as securing those votes.

Gun owners should insist that they hold, not assume the fight is already settled.

“President Trump must reject registration and confiscation legislation,” said Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights. “But Republicans in Congress must refuse to help it advance. Gun owners cannot afford another surrender dressed up as common ground.”

Texas Gun Rights will oppose federal registration schemes, red flag confiscation, and bans on commonly owned firearms regardless of which party supplies the votes.

Democrats won the gavels. They did not win ownership of our rights. Congress and the White House must hear that from gun owners before the next compromise takes shape.

Chip in below to help Texas Gun Rights mobilize against federal gun registration, red flag confiscation, and bans on commonly owned firearms.

Harmeet Dhillon has resigned as head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, removing a key advocate for treating the Second Amendment as a civil right from one of Washington’s most consequential legal posts.

Dhillon submitted a resignation letter dated November 5. According to Fox News’ reporting, Attorney General Todd Blanche accepted it Thursday.

For Texas Gun Rights, the loss is both professional and personal. Dhillon previously represented TXGR, and Dhillon Law Group spearheaded the forced reset trigger lawsuit involving the organization. Under her leadership, the Civil Rights Division established its first dedicated Second Amendment Section.

That section is led by former TXGR Board Chairman Barry Arrington, whom is Acting Chief. TXGR announced his move to DOJ in March.

His work continues. But the departure of the official leading the division above him raises a serious question: will the next Civil Rights chief strengthen Second Amendment enforcement or allow it to lose momentum?

Gun Rights Finally Had a Dedicated Place at DOJ

The Second Amendment Section represented an important change in how the federal government approached the right to keep and bear arms.

Rather than leaving gun owners to shoulder every fight against unconstitutional restrictions themselves, the Justice Department established a unit dedicated to protecting that right.

Its publicly stated responsibilities include investigating infringements, pursuing litigation, and supporting legal arguments defending the Second Amendment through statements of interest and amicus briefs.

That mission has already produced concrete action.

In September, DOJ sued San Jose over firearm carry permit fees approaching $1,600, with the Second Amendment Section involved in the case. In October, DOJ opened an investigation into alleged unconstitutional firearm-permit delays in Pennsauken, New Jersey, through the section.

The Civil Rights Division also sued California in July to challenge its Glock ban and handgun roster.

These lawsuits and investigations show what federal enforcement can look like. They are not finished court victories. Seeing them through requires attorneys, resources, and leadership willing to confront unconstitutional gun control.

Keeping a section’s name on an organizational chart is not enough if its work is delayed, deprived of resources, or pushed aside.

“Harmeet Dhillon helped make the Justice Department treat the Second Amendment like the civil right it is,” said Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt.

“Her departure is a major loss. The answer cannot be to let that work stall. The next Civil Rights chief must give the Second Amendment Section the backing it needs to challenge unconstitutional gun control, not put it on the back burner.”

What Is Known About Her Departure

According to Dhillon’s comments to Fox News, she was not forced out. She said she had decided weeks earlier to return to private practice and remained through the midterm elections at the request of White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.

No successor had been publicly announced as of Thursday evening, November 5.

Her resignation does not, by itself, eliminate the Second Amendment Section or end its cases. DOJ continues to list Arrington as its Acting Chief, and no public announcement indicates that he is departing.

But leadership changes can affect which cases receive attention, whether attorneys have the resources they need, and how aggressively an agency pursues its mission.

Texas Gun Rights is concerned about that direction. The section’s leadership should not have to fight for permission to treat gun rights as equal to the other rights the division exists to protect.

Keep the Second Amendment Section on Offense

President Trump and Attorney General Blanche now face an important leadership decision.

Texas Gun Rights is calling for a Civil Rights chief committed to protecting the Second Amendment Section’s mission, supporting its attorneys, and continuing aggressive enforcement against unconstitutional gun control.

Gun owners should judge the next appointment by action: whether the section pursues cases, challenges infringements, and receives the resources necessary to do its job.

A dedicated Second Amendment Section was an important step. Allowing it to drift into inaction would squander that progress while leaving gun owners to bear the consequences.

Dhillon’s departure must not become the start of a retreat. Keep the attorneys working. Keep the cases moving. Keep the Second Amendment Section on offense.

Chip in below to help Texas Gun Rights demand accountability in Washington and keep pressure on federal leaders to defend the right to keep and bear arms.

The Justice Department’s firearm rights restoration portal reached its initial limit of 5,000 applicants on November 4, the same day public access opened, according to DOJ’s application page.

For thousands of Americans seeking to reclaim their Second Amendment rights, the opportunity was long overdue. By the end of that first day, the door was closed to new applicants.

For Texas Gun Rights member David Hart, that fight is personal.

Hart rebuilt his life after a decades-old nonviolent conviction, served his community, and sought a Texas pardon. His effort stopped at the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles.

Now he is pursuing federal firearm rights restoration with help from TXGR attorney CJ Grisham. At the same time, Texas Gun Rights is fighting for state legislation so nonviolent Texans have a meaningful path to reclaim their rights.

The federal process is an opening. It is not a substitute for fixing Texas law.

A Rebuilt Life. A Denied Pardon.

As Texas Gun Rights previously reported, Hart’s troubles followed devastating personal losses, homelessness, and addiction. A nonviolent drug possession conviction cost him more than his sentence. It left him fighting to recover his Second Amendment rights decades later.

Hart went on to build a business, serve as a firefighter, and join the Texas State Guard. His pardon campaign earned support from lawmakers and local officials across the state.

NBC 5 reported in May 2025 that more than two dozen state lawmakers supported the Parker County man’s effort. The report described a striking contradiction: Hart held certifications to train law enforcement but could not serve as a volunteer reserve peace officer because he could not legally carry a firearm.

Despite that record of rebuilding and service, the Board declined to recommend a pardon, according to TXGR’s previous reporting. In Texas, the Board must recommend a pardon before the Governor can grant one. Hart’s effort never cleared that hurdle.

But the denial did not end his fight.

Hart is now pursuing federal relief with Grisham’s assistance. He has not been granted restoration. His application and TXGR’s legislative effort address separate parts of a problem that neither Washington nor Austin can solve by pointing at the other.

“David Hart rebuilt his life and served his community, but he is still fighting to reclaim his rights,” said Texas Gun Rights President Chris McNutt.

“TXGR is helping him pursue federal relief while fighting to change Texas law. A constitutional right should not become a lifetime privilege available only to people who can navigate the right bureaucracy.”

Intake Slots Are Not Restored Rights

DOJ’s portal is temporarily closed to new starts. People who already began applications can finish and submit them.

The department’s published schedule lists another intake window beginning January 4, 2027, initially limited to 500 additional applicants. After the first 5,000 slots filled in a single day, that limited reopening underscores how much demand remains.

Those numbers represent access to the application process, not restored rights. They do not mean every person who started has submitted a completed application, much less received approval.

Under 18 U.S.C. § 925(c), the Attorney General may grant relief from federal firearm disabilities after determining that an applicant is unlikely to endanger public safety and that relief would not be contrary to the public interest.

The process operates through DOJ’s Office of the Pardon Attorney, with applicants subject to individualized review. A federal grant does not erase a conviction or override independent state firearm restrictions.

That distinction matters for Texans. Opening a federal application process does not finish the job in Austin.

Texas Cannot Leave Restoration to Clemency Alone

Hart’s experience exposes the limitations of relying on pardons as the answer for every nonviolent Texan seeking restoration.

A person can complete his sentence, rebuild his life, serve his community, and earn substantial support from public officials, yet still emerge from the pardon process without relief.

Texas Gun Rights is fighting to change that.

During the 2025 legislative session, House Bill 2759 proposed narrowing Texas’ felony-based firearm-possession restrictions to specified categories of offenses rather than applying them to every felony conviction.

That is the distinction lawmakers must confront: a felony label alone does not tell the full story of a person’s offense, rehabilitation, or conduct decades later.

TXGR is making rights restoration for nonviolent felons part of its unfinished legislative agenda. Meaningful reform must provide a path for people with existing convictions, not leave Texans like Hart behind while promising relief to someone else someday.

Federally, DOJ must process applications and expand meaningful access rather than leave eligible Americans waiting for another limited intake window. In Texas, lawmakers must address state restrictions instead of treating a federal application as the answer to every case.

Hart is still fighting. Texas Gun Rights is fighting alongside him.

Washington has opened a door. Texas lawmakers must stop leaving their own barriers in place.

Chip in below to help Texas Gun Rights fight for meaningful gun rights restoration in Washington and Austin

Fellow Patriot,

Texas gun owners suffered major setbacks on Election Day. And nobody can accuse Texas Gun Rights of sitting on the sidelines.

Our federal results were a mixed bag. The biggest disappointment was James Talarico’s defeat of Ken Paxton, who built one of the strongest records in America fighting federal gun control as Texas Attorney General. Brandon Herrera’s loss in Congressional District 23 also stings, although our primary efforts helped hold anti-gun Congressman Tony Gonzales accountable once and for all.

But there was good news, too. Steve Toth will replace Dan Crenshaw, while Jace Yarbrough, Mark Teixeira, Jessica Hart Steinmann, and Brandon Gill all made 100% pro-gun commitments on our TXGR Candidate Survey.

And we didn’t hold back. During the general election alone, we deployed more than 1 MILLION text messages, sent more than 5 MILLION emails, mailed tens of thousands of pieces of direct mail, drafted dozens of op-eds, and produced hard-hitting political ads.

Combined with our primary and runoff efforts, we invested nearly $300,000 in the 2026 election cycle.

We did not have the firepower to match the anti-gun Left.

But we still did more to expose anti-gun candidates and hold politicians accountable than any other gun rights organization in Texas. And we made sure we conserved enough resources to enter the 2027 session with a fighting chance. But we are nowhere near fully funded for the battle ahead.

For the first time in more than 30 years, Texas gun owners face an incoming Democratic Governor and House, with the Republican-controlled Senate serving as the last firewall against sweeping gun control legislation.

Recently, we’ve grown used to going on offense. But it hasn’t always been that way. We fought off demands for red flag gun confiscation and gun registration when Republicans controlled Austin. In the midst of those fights, we also confronted a Republican establishment that refused to deliver Constitutional Carry.

The party holding power may change. Our tactics do not: mobilized, angry pro-gun Texans who REFUSE to give an inch on their gun rights.

We didn’t win by accepting whatever politicians offered us. We won by making them feel the pressure, and that is how we will fight now.

We’re already collecting petitions, meeting with lawmakers, preparing legislation, and mobilizing gun owners across Texas. But we cannot sustain the fight ahead on what we have left.

That’s why I’m asking you to chip in below with your most generous contribution to Texas Gun Rights today.

We have the foundation to fight back. What we need now are the resources to confront the threats coming out of Austin.

The election is over. The fight for our Second Amendment rights is just beginning.

For Texas and Liberty,

Chris McNutt
President
Texas Gun Rights

Palmetto State Armory is now selling qualifying short-barreled rifles in 17 states without the traditional ATF Form 4 approval process. That turns a recent court victory against the National Firearms Act into real relief for gun owners.

PSA announced the expansion on October 23. Eligible customers in Texas and 16 other states can now buy short-barreled rifles through participating dealers using the standard transfer process instead of the NFA registration system.

It’s a major blow to a 1934 law that treats ordinary rifles as something sinister because of a few inches of barrel. But as Texas Gun Rights warned in our October 12 article, “The NFA Is Dead? Not So Fast,” this victory is not the end of the NFA.

What PSA Is Doing

Under the NFA, a rifle with a barrel shorter than 16 inches has required a separate federal approval process. Buyers filed ATF Form 4, submitted fingerprints and identifying information, and waited for Washington’s permission. Congress cut the $200 transfer tax to zero effective January 1, 2026, but the registration system stayed.

Following the August 5, 2026, ruling in Silencer Shop Foundation v. ATF, consolidated with Jensen v. ATF, the federal government extended nonenforcement nationwide as a matter of agency discretion. The court’s order itself covered only specific parties. PSA now lets eligible buyers take delivery through a participating dealer using only ATF Form 4473 and a background check, the same paperwork used for any other gun purchase.

PSA also has an advantage other manufacturers may not. The company was an original plaintiff in the lawsuit, and the court’s permanent injunction protects covered customers as well as the plaintiffs themselves. That protection is stronger than ATF’s nationwide nonenforcement policy, which a future administration could rescind. For buyers elsewhere, the relief rests on an executive policy, and policies can change.

PSA says more states could be added as its compliance team reviews state restrictions.

ATF’s Own Warning

On October 9, ATF announced it would stop enforcing major NFA registration and approval requirements for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and certain other firearms.

But the NFA was never repealed. The registration statutes and criminal penalties are still federal law.

ATF’s own guidance says enforcement could resume if legal circumstances change or a future administration rescinds the policy. It also says federal law provides no automatic grandfather protection for firearms acquired without registration, and generally doesn’t allow registering them after the fact. A future Attorney General could offer an amnesty, but nothing requires one.

So a gun owner could buy a short-barreled rifle legally today, pass a background check, and still face legal uncertainty years from now if a different administration revives enforcement. Prosecution wouldn’t be automatic, and that owner could have strong constitutional and due-process defenses, but those might have to be fought in federal court.

Other rules still apply too. State and local laws remain in force, dealers must still follow background-check and recordkeeping rules, and taking a short-barreled rifle across state lines generally still requires separate federal approval.

ATF itself warns that if enforcement resumes, people possessing unregistered NFA firearms could face felony penalties and forfeiture, with no guaranteed chance to register.

A government promise not to enforce a gun-control law is not the same as repealing it.

Congress and Texas Must Finish the Job

Congress had the chance to fix this in 2025. During negotiations on President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, lawmakers considered removing suppressors and short-barreled firearms from the NFA entirely. Instead, the final bill zeroed out the $200 tax and left the registration framework standing.

Texas Gun Rights opposed that compromise because a $0 tax doesn’t remove Washington’s power to regulate these firearms. This week shows why that mattered.

“Palmetto State Armory deserves credit for helping turn this legal victory into real relief for gun owners,” said Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights. “But Americans should not have to wonder whether a rifle they legally purchase today could put them in a federal prosecutor’s crosshairs tomorrow. Congress needs to repeal these restrictions, eliminate the criminal penalties, and stop leaving our Second Amendment rights at the mercy of whichever administration controls Washington.”

Texas has already done part of its job. In 2025, the Legislature passed SB 1596, removing short-barreled firearms from the state’s prohibited-weapons statute, effective September 1, 2025.

When the 90th Legislature convenes in January 2027, Texas Gun Rights will push a Second Amendment Preservation Act to keep state and local resources from enforcing federal gun restrictions stricter than Texas law, so Texans aren’t left exposed if Washington changes course.

A Win Worth Celebrating, a Fight Worth Finishing

PSA’s move is real progress against a federal system that has burdened gun owners for more than 90 years. Just don’t mistake it for repeal.

This is not legal advice. Before buying, check current federal, state, and local law and your dealer’s requirements.

The goal was never to make federal gun registration cheaper or temporarily optional. The goal is to end it.

Chip in to Texas Gun Rights to finish the fight against the National Firearms Act and secure permanent Second Amendment protections in Washington and Austin.

The City of Colleyville’s public Flock camera page reported just 44 searches in 30 days. But audit logs obtained through open records requests reportedly show about 4.46 million searches over six months, more than 700,000 a month.

And 2,277,935 of those searches had no case number attached.

The findings, reported by Current Revolt on October 22, raise serious questions about how Colleyville’s license-plate surveillance system was used, who had access to it, and whether city officials understood the network they were defending. The public count and the audit logs may cover different periods and categories of searches, but a gap this size demands an explanation.

Texas Gun Rights has warned for months that Flock’s camera network lets government track law-abiding Texans without probable cause. Colleyville’s records show what that looks like in practice.

Millions of Searches, No Case Numbers

According to Current Revolt’s review of the records, more than 3,800 law enforcement agencies generated about 4.46 million search entries on Colleyville’s network over six months. Those are searches, not necessarily 4.46 million separate vehicles.

Colleyville’s own officers ran just 3,340 of them. The overwhelming majority came from other agencies, which could search without entering a case number at all.

That’s not what Police Chief Michael Miller told the City Council on September 1. He described three required fields documenting an officer’s justification: case number, purpose, and reason. He later acknowledged the case-number requirement was new, added after officials found what he called a gap in policy.

Current Revolt found that 1,268 of Colleyville’s own 3,340 searches had no case number before the department closed that gap on August 19.

A missing case number doesn’t prove a search was illegal. But when officials promise the public that every search is justified and documented, millions of searches without case numbers demand answers.

Searches From 43 Other States

Emails obtained by Current Revolt show Miller believed Colleyville’s cameras weren’t being shared outside Texas.

Yet the records reportedly show about 1.76 million searches from agencies in 43 other states before nationwide sharing was turned off on August 20. According to Current Revolt, Flock had sent the department monthly notices about its nationwide sharing settings.

Miller later told the City Council, according to Current Revolt, that the system shared data only with credentialed Texas agencies.

Whether he didn’t know or didn’t fully explain it, the gap between his assurances and the records is substantial. If city officials can’t say who is searching their cameras, why should Texans trust that the system is under control?

Grapevine Says It Can’t Even Check

Colleyville isn’t alone. In an October 28 follow-up, Current Revolt reported that neighboring Grapevine has told three citizens in writing that it can’t produce its Flock audit logs because the vendor keeps them.

Yet Grapevine’s searches show up in other cities’ logs: 10,558 through Colleyville’s cameras and 891 through Forney’s in a single month.

Texas’ Public Information Act generally requires agencies to release existing public records unless a legal exception applies. A private vendor shouldn’t become a wall between taxpayers and records of what their government is doing.

Colleyville should account for the discrepancies and release complete, updated audit logs, sharing settings, access records, and policies, with legally required protections for sensitive information. Grapevine should produce its records or cite the legal basis for withholding them.

Transparency shouldn’t depend on whether a citizen knows how to fight city hall.

Texas Cities Are Rejecting Flock. Austin Must Finish the Job.

Texas Gun Rights has already documented the growing revolt against Flock. Manor ended its contract. Leander froze its cameras. Pflugerville voted to terminate after residents examined its audit logs. According to The Texas Tribune, at least 900 Flock cameras had been disconnected across Texas by late September after state funding restrictions.

City-by-city isn’t enough. State Rep. Mitch Little has announced plans to file legislation banning automated license-plate readers in the session that begins in January 2027. Texas Gun Rights supports a statewide ban on government-operated Flock-style mass surveillance.

For gun owners, the threat is clear. As we’ve warned before, these cameras can log visits to gun stores, ranges, gun shows, training facilities, and Second Amendment meetings. Government doesn’t need a list of your firearms to build a picture of your lawful life. It just needs to track where you drive. Colleyville shows how far that data can travel.

“Colleyville’s own records show why Texans should never accept promises that mass surveillance is safe because government officials say there are guardrails,” said Chris McNutt, President of Texas Gun Rights. “Millions of searches, missing case numbers, and access by agencies across the country are exactly what we warned would happen. Colleyville needs to release the full records and explain what went wrong, and the Texas Legislature needs to ban this surveillance network before the next abuse occurs.”

Colleyville Residents Deserve Answers

Who authorized nationwide sharing? Why were millions of searches run without case numbers? What oversight existed for outside agencies? And why did the city’s public page tell such a different story from its own logs?

Colleyville residents should demand that the City Council release the complete audit logs, explain the discrepancies, and account for every agency with access to their data.

Transparency is how Texans expose the problem. A statewide ban is how we end it.

Chip in to Texas Gun Rights to help expose Flock’s surveillance network and fight for a statewide ban on government tracking of law-abiding Texans.