About 35 Gun Bills Were Filed on the First Day of Texas Prefiling, and the NRA Is Pushing Back
Lawmakers filed roughly 35 firearm-related bills on Monday, from private-transfer background checks to extreme-risk protective orders. The National Rifle Association calls them a preview of the session that opens January 12.
Texas lawmakers filed approximately 35 firearm-related bills on Monday, November 9, the first day of prefiling for the 90th Legislature, according to the National Rifle Association — and the organization is already pushing back against proposals that would change the state's firearm laws on purchases, transfers and possession. 'With control of the Texas House and the Governor's office changing hands in January, gun grabbers are wasting no time in previewing what to expect when the session opens,' the NRA wrote in a statement reported by USA TODAY. The group urged its members and gun rights supporters to get involved in the legislative process, warning that more firearm proposals could be filed before the session convenes.
The bills summarized from Texas Legislature Online in the reporting span the main categories of gun regulation. House Bill 173 would prohibit the transfer of certain semiautomatic rifles to certain recipients, creating a criminal offense and increasing a penalty. House Bill 613 would require background checks through the National Instant Criminal Background Check System for private firearm transfers, with a criminal offense for violations, and House Bill 218 would establish extreme-risk protective orders — commonly called red flag orders — allowing courts to temporarily restrict firearm access under certain circumstances. House Bill 576 would prohibit registered sex offenders from purchasing firearms, House Bill 659 would require licensed dealers to report certain sales or transfers involving multiple firearms or magazines to law enforcement, and Senate Bill 80 would restrict certain transfers, purchases and possession of firearms classified as assault weapons under the proposal. Other filings address firearm storage, access by people younger than 21 and carrying firearms in certain public places.
Filing is only the first step. The 90th Legislature convenes on January 12, 2027, when bills are assigned to committees for hearings and possible changes; to become law, a bill must pass both chambers in identical form and reach the governor, who can sign it, let it become law without a signature, or veto it, with an override requiring two-thirds of both chambers. The gun filings are part of a much larger first day — lawmakers filed 1,262 bills in total as prefiling opened — and the divided Legislature elected on November 3, with Democrats holding the House and Republicans the Senate, will decide which of them ever reach a floor vote.
