February 6, 2024
2024 is bound to be another year filled with politically explosive developments as the presidential cycle is well underway.
Rest assured, gun rights will be a major issue for the rest of the year as politicians find different ways to attack the Second Amendment. Though it would be a mistake to assume that the threats to the right to bear arms are solely coming from the DC Swamp.
Plenty of state legislatures are filled with politicians who openly hate the Second Amendment and/or work behind the scenes to destroy it. Hence, the importance of having state-based groups ready to push back against anti-gun schemes.
Since its founding in 2014, Texas Gun Rights has answered the call of grassroots conservatives in the Lone Star State who yearn for a no compromise gun lobby who will defend their interests at every step of the way. For its part, TXGR is a 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that does not endorse, support, or stand against any candidate running for political office.
TXGR is mostly focused on informing gun owners and liberty activists in the Lone Star State of their candidate’s positions when it comes to firearms issues. TXGR’s principal objective is to hold politicians accountable and expand individuals’ right to defend themselves, their families, and their property without having to beg the government for permission to do so.
TXGR has set itself apart from other organizations through its grassroots initiatives where members can sign petitions, postcards, letters, send emails, faxes, make phone calls, and personally visit their state legislators to hold them accountable and pressure them to restore the right to bear arms.
TXGR is no middling outfit; it has successfully mobilized more than 500,000 members and supporters across Texas while adovcating for gun rights.
From the outset, TXGR positioned itself as the premier no compromise pro-gun organization in the Lone Star State. It effectively filled a void that was long overdue in a political environment marked by complacency and political scheming designed to undermine gun rights. The first issue that TXGR pushed for was the passage of Constitutional Carry — the simple concept that any lawful individual should be allowed to carry a firearm without having to beg the government for permission.
The fight to bring Constitutional Carry to Texas was no walk in the park. The establishment was quick to put down Constitutional Carry bills each time during the legislative sessions they were introduced. This was the norm from the early 2010s up until 2021. Throughout the course of this fight, TXGR and gun owners were able to pick up solid victories such as the passage of Open Carry and Campus Carry in 2015 — two issues in which Texas lagged behind most pro-gun red states for several decades.
Along the journey, TXGR was able to forge alliances with pro-gun champions such as former State Representatives Jonathan Stickland, Matt Rinaldi, and Kyle Biedermann to constantly push for Constitutional Carry and other pro-gun reforms. As time passed, TXGR gradually built a grassroots army that became a powerful force in Texas politics. Such grassroots pressure played an integral role in compelling disgraced House Speaker Dennis Bonnen to not seek re-election in 2020 — a good omen for gun rights in the following year.
TXGR finally achieved one of its long-standing goals after it passed Constitutional Carry in 2021 following years of disappointment and political intrigue. However, TXGR’s work was far from finished after securing the passage of Constitutional Carry. Since then, it established an educational and legal arm in the Texas Gun Rights Foundation.
TXGRF aims to educate and inform Texans on the importance of the Second Amendment of the US Constitution and Article 1 Section 23 of the Texas Constitution and provide them the tools and knowledge needed to defend their right to bear arms.
By using educational materials, speaking engagements, and training programs, TXGRF empowers gun rights activists to effectively mobilize and shield the right to bear arms from the devious political actors who threaten to eviscerate it. On top of that, TXGRF is committed to defending the right to bear arms in the courts and look to restore freedoms that the political class has taken away from citizens over the years.
In effect, TXGRF will use TXGR’s no-compromise tactics in the courtroom to protect the freedoms enshrined by the Second Amendment to guarantee that lawful gun owners are protected from any violations of their rights by power-hungry bureaucrats and gun-grabbing politicians.
TXGR also has a political action committee (PAC) that directly handles political work. Unlike establishment gun lobbies, who are more content with schmoozing with the ruling class and maintaining the status quo, TXGR PAC is committed to holding politicians’ feet to the fire and directly advocating for pro-gun candidates and against anti-gun candidates.
The aim of both TXGR & TXGR PAC are to make the Texas State Legislature into a bastion for pro-gun legislation that bans red flag gun confiscation, abolishes gun-free zones, and nullifies unconstitutional gun control laws at the federal level, among other reforms. The fight to restore gun rights is only just beginning.
As American politics grows more polarized and the calls for greater state involvement in people’s lives grow stronger, organizations such as TXGR are more critical than ever.
There’s a dearth of political leadership and organizations that are willing to stick behind principles in this era of mass deceit and political expediency.
No matter the political circumstances, TXGR can always be counted on to defend the rights of gun owners.
