Texas Gun Rights After 2026: The Bills Already Filed

Texas gun rights are back in the headlines, and lawmakers have already filed the first bills. NRA-ILA counted about 35 firearm bills on November 9, the first day of prefiling, and says most add limits. None can get a vote before the session opens January 12. Permitless carry is still law today.

So what do the bills actually say, and what stops them? Here is our read.

Here is what is settled. Democrat Gina Hinojosa beat Gov. Greg Abbott by about 7 points in unofficial returns. She is the first Democrat elected governor since 1990. Democrats also won lieutenant governor, attorney general and the Texas House. Republicans kept the Texas Senate.

Short answer: your carry rights did not change on election night. A bill needs the House, the Senate and the governor. The Senate is the hard part.

This article is education, not legal advice. Laws change. For your situation, talk to a Texas firearms attorney.

What did Texas voters actually change on November 3?

They changed who holds the offices, not the law you carry under.

Here is the new lineup:

• Governor. Hinojosa takes office at noon on January 19, 2027.
• Lieutenant governor. Vikki Goodwin beat Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick with 51.7% of the vote, per the Associated Press.
• Attorney general. State Sen. Nathan Johnson won the open seat.
• Texas House. Democrats won control. Republicans had held it since the 2002 election.
• Texas Senate. Republicans kept a 19 to 12 majority.

Hinojosa has been clear on carry. She fought the 2021 permitless carry bill on the House floor. She told the New Yorker on October 21 that “people should have a background check to carry a gun,” the Dallas Express reports.

Supporters of a license requirement make that same case. They want a background check and training before anyone carries in public.

What gun bills have lawmakers already filed?

Nine bills stand out so far. Each one is only a proposal.

We read the filed text on the Texas Legislature’s site. Online summaries often go further than the bills do. As of this writing, the filed text says this:

Two details get lost in summaries. SB 80 applies to buyers under 21. It does not ban adults from owning these rifles. And HB 712 is narrower than some summaries suggest. Its title covers carry at certain libraries.

Gun-rights groups such as NRA-ILA call most of these bills new limits. Supporters of extreme risk orders say they can stop a crisis early. Both sides are describing the same text.

Our read: for Texas gun rights, HB 218 and HB 613 matter most to everyday carriers. They change what a court can do about guns you own, and how you can sell or transfer one.

The strongest objection is that a filed bill is not a passed bill. In 2025, the lead under-21 rifle bill never got a hearing. That session also passed a law that blocks red flag orders. What changes this time is the House. A Democratic House can send bills to the Senate that earlier House majorities held back.

Can the new governor repeal permitless carry?

No. A governor cannot erase a law with an executive order.

Permitless carry comes from House Bill 1927. It took effect September 1, 2021. Undoing it takes a new bill. That bill must pass the House, pass the Senate and get signed.

A governor can call a special session. That is extra lawmaking time outside the regular session. But the governor only picks the topic. Lawmakers still have to pass a bill.

A 2021 law also took away the governor’s power to ban gun sales during an emergency.

There is one detail a lot of people miss. Article I, Section 23 of the Texas Constitution, the state’s highest law, protects the right to keep and bear arms. The same sentence lets the Legislature “regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime.” That text has not changed since 1876.

So permitless carry is a statute, a law the Legislature passed. It is not written into the constitution. A future Legislature with the votes could change it.

Why is the Texas Senate the real gatekeeper?

Because Senate rules need five-ninths of senators present to bring a bill up for debate.

That is called the five-ninths rule. The Senate adopted it in 2021, replacing a two-thirds rule. With all 31 senators present, it means 18 votes. Republicans hold 19 seats. Democrats hold 12. So Democrats need at least six Republican senators to bring any bill to the floor.

Our read: if 14 of the 19 Republican senators hold together, these bills cannot be debated.

The strongest objection is real. The threshold is a Senate rule, not a law. Senators adopt their rules each session, so the 2027 version is not final until January. A simple majority of 16 can rewrite it. Those same rules give the lieutenant governor power over committees and bills. Republicans can trim that power before Goodwin uses it.

What will actually change for Texas carriers in 2027?

Enforcement will change. The law itself likely will not.

Three shifts matter most:

• Pro-carry bills stall. They now face a Democratic House and a governor’s veto. A veto is the governor’s refusal to sign. Overriding one takes two-thirds of both chambers, and no party has that.
• Enforcement changes hands. Under Government Code Section 411.209, a license holder can report an improper “no guns” sign on city or county property. The attorney general decides whether to sue. That law was used against the City of Dallas over the State Fair. Johnson has said the attorney general must defend the laws the Legislature passes, even bad ones.
• Emergency powers are in play. Republican state Rep. Brian Harrison asked Abbott to call a special session before January 19 to limit those powers. As of this writing, Abbott has not said he will. Johnson also wants limits, but not through a rushed session.

Should you keep or get a Texas License to Carry now?

For most of us who travel or carry on a college campus, yes.

A License to Carry (LTC) is the state handgun license issued by the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS). Fewer Texans hold one now. DPS counted 1,700,877 active license holders in its 2021 report. By December 31, 2025, that number was 1,416,121. That is a drop of about 16.7%.

An LTC still does things permitless carry does not:

• Reciprocity. You can carry in other states that honor the Texas license.
• Faster purchases. A dealer can accept it in place of the federal background check at the counter.
• Campus carry. You need it to carry on a college campus.

One bill adds a reason to look at the license. HB 218 would let a judge suspend a handgun license in an extreme risk case. It is only a proposal.

Our team splits on the rest. One side says the $40 first-time license and its class are cheap insurance if the law changes. The other side says the law is what it is today, and regular practice matters more than a card. Both sides train. They just weigh the card differently.

Do one thing today

Check your LTC expiration date on the DPS site and set a renewal reminder. An election is a reason to read the law, not to rush a purchase.

The bottom line for Texas gun rights

Texas gun rights did not change on election night.

Bills are filed, and the real fight starts January 12. The Senate’s 19 Republicans can keep a bill from reaching a vote if 14 of them hold together. The real trigger is the 2028 Senate races. If Democrats reach 16 Senate seats, they could rewrite the floor rules by simple majority. Until then, read the bill text and watch the Senate rules vote.

Quick Poll: License or No License?

What would change your answer: travel plans, a law change, or your training routine? Tell us in the comments.