Gun owners in eight states thought they were living in relatively safe Second Amendment environments until last week, when Democrats swept the midterm elections.
Not long ago, Republicans boasted about how many of their GOP-led states were racking up constitutional carry laws.
Now, the only barrier protecting gun rights in Texas is a seven-seat GOP majority margin in the state Senate.
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Democrats, who flipped the state House after 24 years, have already prefiled 35 gun-related bills, hoping to get the legislation to the desk of Democratic Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa.
The Texas state Legislature is expected to gavel into session on Jan. 12, and according to the National Rifle Association Institute for Legislative Action, most of the prefiled legislation involves gun control measures.
“With control of the Texas House and the Governor’s office changing hands in January, gun grabbers are wasting no time in previewing what to expect when the session opens,” the NRA-ILA said.
Texas is not the only state where gun rights are on the line since Democrats flipped state houses and won governorships across the country.
In Georgia, Democrat Keisha Lance Bottoms won the governorship and her party flipped the House, but Republicans retained the Senate by two seats.
Ms. Bottoms, an outspoken gun control activist aligned with Mayors Against Illegal Guns, has called for a ban on “assault weapons” and for establishing universal background checks and a red flag law, which allows for gun seizures following extreme risk protection orders.
In Arizona, Katie Hobbs was reelected governor, while fellow Democrat Kris Mayes was reelected attorney general.
State Democrats also captured both legislative chambers, giving the party the first trifecta in Arizona since 1966. State Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, a Tucson Democrat, told the Arizona Mirror last week that gun control legislation is among “the party’s key priorities.”
Minnesota Democrats, who also took control of their state House, expanded their majority in the state Senate and elected U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar to be governor.
A previous gun control package stopped earlier this year in the evenly divided Minnesota House after passing the Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled Senate. The package featured restrictions on semiautomatic “assault” weapons and limits on magazine rounds.
Ms. Klobuchar indicated during a post-election press conference that the legislation is slated to resume when the session begins on Jan. 12.
In Michigan, Democrats Jocelyn Benson and Eli Savit were elected governor and attorney general, respectively, as the party recaptured the state House and maintained control of the state Senate.
Michigan’s Senate in 2025 passed legislation to ban bump stocks and ghost guns, firearms without serial numbers, but the bills stalled in the Republican-controlled House.
Michigan Democratic leadership said at the time that it would need to win the House to pass any anti-gun laws.
Democrats now have a trifecta in Nevada after electing Democrat Aaron Ford as their next governor and expanding their majorities in both chambers, with a two-thirds majority in the Assembly. Their Senate majority falls one seat short of a two-thirds majority.
Nevada, home to the annual gun industry gathering known as the SHOT Show, is where several firearm companies reside, including Franklin Armory and its Bushmaster subsidiary; Armscor; Legacy Arsenal; and Legacy Sports.
Nevada’s Democrat-controlled state Legislature previously sent a slew of gun control bills to Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, and he vetoed them.
This included banning the possession of firearms within 100 feet of polling places and redefining what constitutes firearm frames and receivers under state law.
He also vetoed a bill that prohibited adults between the ages of 18 and 20 from possessing semiautomatic rifles and shotguns.
In Pennsylvania, Democrats just flipped the state Senate and kept control of the state House and the governor’s mansion, thereby recapturing a trifecta that the party has not had since 1993.
Democrats have been trying to pass gun control bills that have stalled in the Senate, including universal background checks, Extreme Risk Protection Orders or red flag laws, and mandatory safe storage laws.
Democrats in Wisconsin captured majorities in the Assembly and the Senate after electing Democrat Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley as their new governor.
Wisconsin Democrats recently proposed a slew of gun control bills that were stymied by the GOP majority in the chambers, including universal background checks, red flag, campus carry restrictions, mandatory gun lock laws, and waiting periods.
The anticipated passage of proposed gun control laws across the country is also fueling speculation of gun and ammunition-related panic purchases.
Gun sales are expected to surge in the coming months, a leading Second Amendment group said, as Americans come to grips with Democrats’ ascendance to power on Capitol Hill and in the states.
The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said the desire to buy guns could reach its highest level since the COVID-19 pandemic emergency and President Joseph R. Biden’s election victory six years ago.
“We may be about to witness a surge in gun buying not seen since 2020,” said Alan Gottlieb, the group’s chairman.
• Stephen Dinan contributed to this story.
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