As your constituent, I am writing to insist that you oppose H.B. 118/S.B. 163 which would institute ‘Universal Background Checks’ here in Texas. This legislation is being pushed by State Representative Lina Ortega, Senator-elect Cesar Blanco and others, and it would create a statewide registry of gun owners by requiring government permission for every firearms transfer. The fact that the most liberal wing of the Democratic caucus is behind this bill tells me all I need to know about this legislation, and that should be enough for you, too. But in case it’s not, I wanted you to hear from me directly, that I am 100% opposed to this legislation and that I will 100% oppose any lawmaker who supports it. The gun control crowd has made it clear now that they want to forcibly disarm gun owners like me, and registration schemes like this make that more possible. To be clear, there is no version of this bill that I would ever find acceptable. Please oppose H.B. 118/S.B. 163 in committee and on the floor. The American Firearms Association will keep me informed of your votes and statements on this bill.

‘Universal Background Checks’ are a blatant attempt to create a registry of every gun owner in Texas, and everyone knows it. They don’t stop criminals. They don’t save lives. And they never will. This is about radical gun grabbers like Representative Lina Ortega, Senator Cesar Blanco and others doing everything they can to create a massive list of gun owners in Texas. And for that reason, I demand that you vote no on this legislation (H.B. 118/S.B. 163.) If you want to stop violent killers, you could start by passing the Constitutional Carry bill that the legislature has been killing for years. You could also work to repeal deadly ‘Gun Free Zones’ in Texas. Whatever you do, please oppose ‘Universal Background Checks.’ The American Firearms Association will be letting me know how you vote, as well as any statements you make, on this bill.

The ‘Universal Background Check’ legislation being pushed in Austin (H.B. 118/S.B. 163) is nothing more than an attempt by crazed socialists to disarm Texans by way of a statewide gun owner registry. The very idea that I would have to add my name into this registry, like a convicted sex offender, to enjoy my Second Amendment freedoms, is disgusting to me. Today’s socialists, like Beto O’Rourke and many others, have made it clear that their only goal is to disarm law abiding Americans like me. To seize these firearms, they first need to know where to find them. And a statewide gun registry is how they are going to do it. As my voice in Austin, I insist that you oppose this legislation at all points in the legislative process! The American Firearms Association will let me know where you stand on this legislation.

The liberal gun grabbers in Austin who are pushing ‘Universal Background Checks’ legislation (H.B. 118/S.B. 163) are going to do nothing to stop violent crime. Almost every mass shooter in the past decade went through a background check, showing how utterly futile they are. On the contrary, this legislation would make criminals out of countless law abiding Texans by forcing them to obtain government permission to transfer all firearms. If I let a lifelong friend borrow a firearm for pheasant opener without obtaining government permission first, I would be a felon. If I give a firearm to my adult nephew, as a gift, without obtaining government permission first, I would be a felon. If I so much as take a friend to the range, to show them how to safely handle firearms without government permission first, I would be a felon. Clearly, gun grabbers have declared war on me, and hundreds of thousands of other law abiding gun owners in Texas. That’s why I am writing, to insist that you VOTE NO on any attempt to pass H.B. 118/S.B. 163 as it would not stop criminals and would make felons out of countless Texans. The American Firearms Association will be watching your actions and statement on this bill, and will report back to me.

While gun grabbers in Austin are trying to pass a statewide gun owner database under the guise of ‘Universal Background Checks,’ (H.B. 118/S.B. 163) they assure us it’s about stopping violent crime. But this is a lie, and they know it. The truth is that almost every single high-profile shooting in the last decade was carried out by a madman who had already passed a background check! A partial list includes: The February 14, 2018 Parkland, FL shooting; The November 5, 2017 Sutherland Springs, TX shooting; The October 1, 2017 Las Vegas, NV shooting; The June 12, 2016 Orlando, FL shooting; The December 2, 2015 San Bernardino, CA shooting; The October 1, 2015 Roseburg, OR shooting; The June 17, 2015 Charleston, SC shooting; The April 2, 2014 Fort Hood shooting; The September 16, 2013 Washington D.C. Navy Yard shooting; The August 5, 2012 Oak Creek, WI shooting; The July 20, 2012 Aurora, CO shooting; The January 8, 2011 Tucson, AZ shooting; The November 5, 2009 Fort Hood shooting. In each of these shootings, spanning a decade, the shooter passed a background check. This legislation has one goal -– to put every gun owner in Texas into a statewide database. And, should a gun owner transfer a firearm to a friend without going through these government background checks, he would be a felon for life. This is outrageous. As my legislator in Austin, I insist that you vote no against any attempt to pass H.B. 118/S.B. 163! I will be watching your votes on this bill, and will stay informed from the American Firearms Association, too.

With the fake news media and Bloomberg-funded studies claiming that Texans are unified in their support of a statewide gun registry, I wanted you to hear the truth from me. Law abiding gun owners are a proud and free people, and we are 100% opposed to any legislation that would force us to get government permission to buy a firearm! In fact, I don’t know of a single gun owner in Texas who supports adding our name to a government database before we are able to buy or sell a firearm. That’s because the Second Amendment wasn’t written to secure my right to hunt deer, or even to defend against criminals. Those things are assumed. Rather, our right to keep and bear arms is about making sure that Americans have the means to defend ourselves against a tyrannical government. So the last people we want knowing how many firearms we own, or what kind of firearms we own, is the very government that our forefathers wanted us to be able to defend ourselves against! That’s why I want you to vote no on any attempt to create a defacto registry of gun owners by way of this system! Please know that every gun owner I know considers this a bright red line, and that we will not support any lawmaker who supports this disastrous legislation. The American Firearms Association assures me that they will keep me up to date on the status of this bill, whether it’s H.B. 118, S.B. 163 or similar legislation.