Texas has no law restricting assault weapons.

As a result, researchers have found, Texas is a major source of assault weapons trafficked south of the border into Mexico and Central America. A 2016 GAO report on gun trafficking indicated that at least 70% of crime guns recovered and traced by law enforcement in Mexico were traced to gun sellers in the U.S., and that among the 50 states, Texas was by far the leading source of weapons trafficked into Mexico—more than nearly every other state combined. The report noted that “the firearms of choice for drug traffickers are high caliber assault rifles,” which are legal in Texas but not the other major border crossing state, California. This helps to explain why researchers have found increased rates of violence and crimes using assault weapons in areas of Mexico near Texas, but not areas of Mexico near California.

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