Texas Lawmakers File Slew of Gun Bills
Texas lawmakers filed over 20 anti-gun bills ahead of the new legislature convening in January 2027. Measures include red flag laws, prohibitions on 3D printed guns, and more.
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Lawmakers and lawmakers-elect in Texas took advantage of pre-filing and introduced over 20 bills tied to guns.
The measures span everything from "extreme risk protective orders," known as red flag laws, to barring Texans under the age of 21 from owning "assault weapons." (Full list below!)
Texas was one of a handful of states that saw a surge in Democratic candidates winning key seats in government. Rep. James Talarico (D-Austin) defeated Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the U.S. Senate race. At the same time, state Rep. Gina Hinojosa (D-Austin) nabbed the governorship from Greg Abbott, and Vikki Goodwin took Republican Dan Patrick's seat as lieutenant governor. Republicans still hold the Texas Senate, while Democrats won control of the Texas House.
Texas Gun Rights, a pro-gun organization, encouraged Texas Senate Republicans to hold the line and prevent anti-gun bills from becoming law.
"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," the organization said in a statement.
Governor-elect Hinojosa has not publicly commented on any of the proposed bills. That said, she has supported gun control legislation in the past.
More than 1,000 total bills were pre-filed covering everything from education and healthcare to guns. The Texas Legislature convenes Jan. 12, 2027.
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Proposed Gun Legislation
- HB 218: Creates a statewide red flag law that allows a judge to issue a temporary order requiring guns to be surrendered with no prior notice if there's reasonable cause to find an immediate danger from a serious mental illness. A hearing must follow within 14 days, and a final order lasts one year. It also repeals the 2025 ban on red flag laws.
- HB 660: Requires Texans convicted of felonies or family violence offenses, or those under protective orders or certain bond conditions to dispose of all firearms within 10 days.
- HB 613: Makes it a crime to sell or give a gun to anyone unless the transfer goes through a dealer background check.
- HB 659: Requires dealers to report buyers of two or more guns, or four or more magazines, within five business days.
- SB 80: Makes it illegal for Texans under 21 to buy or possess "assault weapons" as defined by the bill.
- HB 606: Prohibits anyone under 21 from buying or possessing a firearm.
- HB 610: Prohibits the transfer of any firearm to Texans under 21.
- HB 173, HB 857, HB 771: Makes selling semi-auto rifles that accept a detachable magazine and are larger than .22 caliber to anyone under 21 a state jail felony. Note: Peace officers and current or honorably discharged U.S. military members would be exempt in bills HB 173 ad and HB 857.
- HB 806: Makes selling semi-auto rifles to anyone under 21 a state jail felony, no exceptions.
- SB 308: Bans 3D-printed guns and makes sharing those digital files a crime.
- HB 712: Loosens state preemption, allowing cities and counties to ban guns in public libraries -- even for License to Carry holders.
- HB 960: Makes it a crime to openly carry a handgun in a public library -- with or without a License to Carry.
- HB 776: Makes it a crime to possess a gun within 1,000 feet of a school or on a school bus without written school authorization.
- HB 609: Raises the penalty for criminally negligent firearms access by a child from a Class C to a Class A misdemeanor, regardless of whether there were any injuries.
- HB 658: Raises the covered age to 18 and creates a third-degree felony when a child fires a gun and kills/seriously injures someone outside the household.
- HB 103: Extends the reckless-discharge offense to all counties with more than 500,000 people, including rural and private land.
- HB 859: Makes reckless discharge of a firearm in a big city a state jail felony.
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