Texas Gun Deaths Surged 63% under Greg Abbott
Governor Greg Abbott says public safety is a top priority of his administration, but the facts tell a different story.
Gun deaths in Texas tragically rose from 2,848 in 2014 to 4,630 in 2022, a disturbing 63% increase since Abbott took office. The numbers make it clear that Texans are less safe because of Abbott’s total abdication of gun policy to the corrupt influence of the gun lobby.
Since being elected, Abbott has weakened Texas’s gun laws while making it easier for those intent on doing harm to obtain and carry firearms. In 2021, he repealed the state’s concealed carry permitting laws, effectively letting anyone walk the streets with a loaded gun—with no background check or training required. And in 2023, he harmed survivors and victims of gun violence by making it less likely that gun owners obtain insurance.
Everyone—regardless of whether they own a gun or where they fall on the political spectrum—wants safe communities where they can raise their kids and live their lives without fear. Texans know the state’s incredibly weak gun laws make it too easy for bad actors to get their hands on deadly weapons. They’re sick of worrying about shootings when they go shopping, head to the movies, or drop their kids off at school.
Conventional wisdom might suggest that improving Texas’s gun laws would require a political sea change, but the data tells a different story. If leaders in the Lone Star state would simply listen to the people they represent, it would save countless lives:
- 78% of Texans support mandatory background checks on all gun sales, including 70% of Republicans.
- 76% of Texas voters support requiring gun purchasers to be at least 21 years old.
- 72% support “red flag” laws that keep guns away from people a court has determined to be at high risk of harming themselves or others.
- 69% support a waiting period to purchase assault rifles.
Texas
Texans understand that there is no contradiction between supporting the Second Amendment and the commonsense laws that keep guns away from high-risk individuals, like domestic abusers, convicted felons, or those found by a court to be a danger to others. That’s why Texans across the state have already joined GIFFORDS Gun Owners for Safety, a nationwide coalition of gun owners dedicated to preventing gun violence. For years, the gun lobby has spread the myth that Americans face a binary choice: guns everywhere, or no guns at all. But that’s not true—and by providing an alternative to the NRA, GIFFORDS Gun Owners for Safety brings together allies to speak out for gun safety and responsibility.
Voters have made up their minds and are crying out for proven, popular, and commonsense laws that save lives. They are crying out for leaders with the courage and the conscience to escape the gun lobby’s toxic grip and do the right thing. They don’t want to live in Greg Abbott’s Texas, where gun deaths continue to rise.
GIFFORDS Texas, our latest state program, will be on the ground throughout the state to help educate, persuade, and—if necessary, replace—lawmakers.
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GUN OWNERS FOR SAFETY
The NRA’s extremist views don’t represent the majority of gun owners. Responsible gun owners understand that commonsense gun laws go hand-in-hand with firearm ownership.
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