Did Texas Democrat James Talarico just have his “Beto” moment?
Robert Francis “Beto” O’Rourke famously declared that “hell yes” he was coming for AR-15s and other semi-automatic rifles during his brief run for president in 2019. O’Rourke tried backing away from those comments during his gubernatorial campaign in 2022, but his embrace of a gun ban was one of the reasons why Greg Abbott trounced him by more than ten points that year.
Texans don’t take kindly to politicians who want to stomp on their Second Amendment rights, and Talarico has made it clear that’s exactly what he plans on doing if elected this November.
James talarico confirms he would “absolutely” vote to ban certain guns and magazines. #TXsen #2A pic.twitter.com/9mM9lAbCt7
— Lone Star Liberty PAC (@LoneStar_PAC) September 10, 2026
Talarico tried to hedge his bets by saying it would depend on the “details of the legislation”, but when pressed about an “assault weapons” ban being on the table, he replied with one word: absolutely.
The Democrat’s support for a gun and magazine ban was quickly highlighted by NRA-ILA Executive Director John Commerford, who said in a statement that by “vowing to vote for a so-called assault weapons ban if elected to the Senate, James Talarico just kicked a hornet’s nest.”
Nearly half of Texas households have guns, and millions of law-abiding Texans own the very rifles and standard-capacity magazines he would ban. Gun owners will decide this election — and Talarico just gave them another reason to vote.
Indeed. Now it’s up to the media to drill down deeper into Talarico’s response. The Democrat says the details of any gun and magazine ban matter, so what, exactly, is he looking for? What, if anything, would go too far for Talarico, and why?
If Talarico truly thinks that the most popular rifles and ammunition magazines should be banned, what does he think about the 40-million or so centerfire semi-automatic rifles and the roughly 500 million “large capacity” magazines in the hands of lawful gun owners? If he believes these items are “weapons of war,” does that mean he supports the confiscation of these arms? And if not, why? If James Talarico thinks these arms are a problem, it makes no sense for him to have no issue with the large amount of them that are already out there.
Here’s another question: if the Supreme Court rules that bans on so-called assault weapons are unconstitutional, is Talarico willing to accept that outcome? Actually, we probably know the answer to that, since Talarico has already said he’s “open” to the idea of packing the court with Democrat-approved justices.
These are legitimate questions that Talarico should have to answer, and the Paxton campaign needs to raise them even if the media following the Democrat’s campaign won’t. If Talarico’s support for a ban depends on the details, then he needs to explain what he’s looking for.
Talarico’s comments are a gift to the Paxton’s campaign, which has been struggling. RealClearPolling shows him ahead in just one of the last nine polls conducted since late July. A Fabrizio/Anzalone survey of nearly 900 likely voters released earlier this week gave Talarico a four-point lead over Paxton, though the Democrat is still under 50 percent. Paxton needs to give hesitant voters and undecideds a reason to move into his camp, and highlighting Talarico’s support for banning some of the most popular firearms in the Lone Star State may be the best way to do so.
Editor’s Note: The radical Left will stop at nothing to enact their extreme gun control agenda and strip us of our Second Amendment rights.
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