Texans who respect and revere gun rights have seen this act before.
They rejected former U.S. Rep. Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke at the ballot box in 2018 when he ran against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz on a platform that included strict gun control. National Democrat voters rejected him again in 2020 when he tried his hand at a White House bid. That campaign went so badly for him that he was forced to drop out before any primary election ballots were cast. Then he was crushed in the 2022 gubernatorial race against incumbent Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, with Texas voters again rejecting him by more than 10 points.
It turns out that yelling, “Hell yeah, we’re going to take your AR-15s,” from the debate stage isn’t a particularly effective way of winning over Texas voters.
Now, in 2026, Texas Democrats are once again running a candidate who proudly spouts the “ban modern sporting rifles” gun control mantra, hoping that maybe this time Texas gun owners will somehow vote differently.
What’s more, Democrat nominee James Talarico has attempted to use religion to shame voters into more gun control. “That’s a bold strategy, Cotton,” as the saying goes.
Coming For Your Guns
Former Texas state Rep. James Talarico won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. John Cornyn. Current Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, an ardent Second Amendment supporter, is the Republican nominee.
It’s a stark contrast between the two candidates when it comes to Second Amendment issues that is a Texas country mile wide.
Breitbart News unearthed audio recordings of Talarico giving Texas state House floor speeches and podcast interviews in which he wholeheartedly voiced support for gun confiscation and registration schemes. That includes implementing bans on entire classes of common firearms, including MSRs — such as AR-15-style semiautomatic rifles. NSSF data show there are at least 32 million MSRs in private circulation, considerably more than there are Ford F-150 pickup trucks on the road. That will hit home in The Lone Star State.
Speaking with the South Asian American Voter Empowerment (SAAVE Texas) group, Talarico went all-in on gun control in true Beto O’Rourke fashion.
“I think universal background checks, I think closing the gun show loophole, assault weapon ban, large capacity magazine ban, I think restricting large firearm purchases, I think even we should start to think about handgun design safety standards as well,” former state Rep. Talarico said. “So probably in that order are the things I’m most interested in championing and working on.”
If that doesn’t scream at Texas voters, “Hell yeah, we’re going to take your guns,” I don’t know what does.
Shame’s the Game
If the flat-out strict gun control policies weren’t problematic enough for voters in a state like Texas, the Democrat nominee has also piled on with attempts to shame voters by using their religion.
Just three years ago, in a speech from the Texas state House floor, then-state Rep. Talarico invoked religion in an attempt to shame lawmakers into supporting stricter gun control after a deranged individual broke existing laws to commit a heinous crime.
“We prayed and God sent our colleague from Uvalde to bring a bill that would prevent tragedies from happening in the future,” then-state Rep. Talarico declared. “Instead of hearing that bill…we have ignored God’s messengers. This is moral madness.”
The madness belongs to Talarico, who claims God is nonbinary and can’t seem to remember that rights protected by the U.S. Constitution are granted by “our Creator,” as expressed in the Declaration of Independence. That recognizes an authority much higher than the one to which Talarico hopes to be elected.
The bill he was referencing would bar law-abiding American adults aged 18–20 from owning certain types of firearms. No other constitutional right imposes an age limit on adults over 18.
Misleading Voters
Talarico’s misguided Second Amendment policies come from his misunderstanding of the Second Amendment itself. During a 2020 video town hall, Rep. Talarico voiced his full-throated support for strict gun control, based on his faulty understanding of the Constitution.
“A lot of politicians like to talk about the Second Amendment,” Rep. Talarico asserted to the audience at a video townhall event. “Very few have actually read the Second Amendment because, if they did, they would know that the words ‘well regulated’ are right there in the text of the amendment itself.”
Rep. Talarico’s suggestion that “well regulated” meant that the Founders believed all along that gun rights were supposed to be heavily restricted or conditioned is as laughable as it should be disqualifying. We have a summer reading list for Rep. Talarico, and it begins with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Heller.
In fact, Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, recently dismantled Rep. Talarico’s arguments.
“Militias were considered the backbone of the American military, particularly by those who feared a standing army,” Turley recently wrote in a Fox News column. “Some militias were less capable than others during the Revolutionary War. A well-regulated militia meant state militias that were combat-ready.”
#GUNVOTE This November
The November election is less than two months away. NSSF’s #GUNVOTE initiative was created to ensure all law-abiding American gun owners are registered to vote, know when and where to cast their ballot, learn where candidates stand on the Second Amendment and to make their voices heard on Election Day. That includes Texas voters.
As Rep. Talarico continues to try to sell his antigun platform to Texas voters, more of them will learn just how extreme that platform is and will reject it. NSSF will be there to help spread the word.
Don’t Risk Your Rights — #GUNVOTE.
Larry Keane is SVP for Government and Public Affairs, Assistant Secretary and General Counsel of the National Shooting Sports Foundation.
Several hundred years ago. Martin Luther told the church they needed to learn to read the bible for themselves. Instead of relying on the leadership to tell them what was in it.
In the 21st-century there are muslims who have never read their own holy book. Their leadership tells them to kill other people. Both muslims and non-muslims.
James Talarico is like these uneducated people. Who have never read their own holy book.
Or perhaps he is just an atheist, who hopes believers haven’t read the religious text. And thinks he can fool the voters in Texas???