Public Safety

Will Paxton’s Challenge To Gun Background Checks Affect The State’s Safety?

In the latest legal skirmish between state and federal authorities, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is once again at the forefront, this time contesting the Justice Department’s recent move to broaden background check requirements for private gun sales.

According to NBCDFW, the Justice Department’s new rules mandate background checks and licenses for private firearm transactions, extending regulations typically applied to gun store sales to include those conducted among acquaintances, family members, and gun shows.

Paxton deems these regulations as an unconstitutional overreach of federal authority, and is leading a multistate coalition, including Louisiana, Missouri, and Utah to sue the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) for “unlawfully attempting to abridge Americans’ constitutional right to privately buy and sell firearms.”

In a statement, Paxton claimed: “Yet again, Joe Biden is weaponizing the federal bureaucracy to rip up the Constitution and destroy our citizens’ Second Amendment rights.”

“This is a dramatic escalation of his tyrannical abuse of authority. With today’s lawsuit, it is my great honor to defend our Constitutionally-protected freedoms from the out-of-control federal government,” he concluded.

Paxton is joined by Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch, who agreed this was an overreach of federal authority claiming “the Second Amendment could never have contemplated this kind of regulation and it will not withstand scrutiny in the courts.”

Conversely, the Biden Administration defends the action as part of a broader strategy to combat the influx of illegally obtained firearms into communities and hold accountable those responsible for supplying weapons used in criminal activities.

Paxton was joined by Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach and Wes Virdell, Texas State Director of Gun Owners of America, in Frisco, when they announced the lawsuit. Both Paxton and Kobach said they anticipate a prompt judicial ruling on the matter, hoping for a resolution within a month’s time.

RA Staff

Written by RA News staff.

Recent Posts

Texas’ Opioid Fight Faces Uncertainty as COVID-Era Funding Ends

Texas’ no-cost naloxone distribution system faces mounting…

34 minutes ago

Cruz Proposes Anti-Censorship Bill

Sen. Ted Cruz is preparing to introduce…

45 minutes ago

$50 Million for Administration? Odyssey Chosen to Run Texas School Voucher Program

Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock announced Monday that…

24 hours ago

Wesley Hunt Enters Texas GOP Senate Race And Shakes Up 2026 Primary

Texas Republican Congressman Wesley Hunt announced Monday…

1 day ago

Trey Trainor Launches Bid for Chip Roy’s Congressional Seat

Trey Trainor, a longtime ally of President…

1 day ago

Texas Democrats Focus on Winning Back Working-Class Voters

As Texas Democrats prepare for the 2026…

2 days ago

This website uses cookies.