Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

“Pro-gun” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Turns on Second Amendment Supporters, Sides With Anti-Gun Lobby

Sunday, September 8, 2019

“Pro-gun” Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick Turns on Second Amendment Supporters, Sides With Anti-Gun Lobby

Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick uses his political website to claim he is “leading the fight for life and liberty in Texas, including … standing up for the Second Amendment.” He also proudly notes his prior NRA endorsement.

But when it comes to the right to keep and bear arms, Dan Patrick is showing himself to be all hat and no cattle. On Friday, for example, he appeared on Fox News to promote a federal mandate for expanded background checks. In doing so, he exposed himself as not just unprincipled on the Second Amendment, but ill-informed as well.   

The pretext of this about-face from his prior professed Second Amendment support comes from recent reports that a man responsible for the mass attack in Odessa, Tex. bought the gun he used in his crimes in an illegal private sale. Indeed, if the reports are to be believed, the sale was illegal on both ends. The seller is already being criminally investigated for unlicensed manufacturing and sale of firearms, while the accused killer – now dead – was reportedly prohibited by law from possessing firearms at all. 

Both men, in other words, allegedly violated the laws that were already in place. The one who is still alive appears on his way to well-deserved punishment. If ever there was a scenario that could not have been prevented simply by adding more laws to be broken into the situation, this would be it. 

As we noted in a statement responding to Patrick on Friday:

With due respect, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrickproposals’ would resurrect the same broken, Bloomberg-funded failures that were attempted under the Obama administration. Like most political gambits, Lt. Gov. Patricksolutionprecedes his possession of the facts, including this critical concession by the Obama administration: Criminalizing private firearm transfers would require a massive, governmental gun registration scheme. Instead of trampling the freedom of law-abiding Americans, the government should focus upon actual solutions: fixing our broken mental health system, prosecuting known criminals and enforcing the existing gun laws that require follow-up whenever a prohibited person tries to buy a firearm. In the meantime, the NRA remains at the forefront of legitimate efforts to combat crime in our country. We encourage Lt. Gov. Patrick to join us in support of the same. 

But Patrick now claims the incident shows the need for expanded background checks on lawful firearm transfers. 

Please take action to let Lt. Gov. Patrick know that law-abiding gun owners aren’t responsible for the actions of criminals. 

Fact Checking Lt. Gov. Patrick:

Patricks talking points during the Fox segment were more akin to those used by the gun prohibition lobby to promote universal background checks. What follows is just a sampling of the inaccurate and misleading information he used to try to justify clamping down on lawful firearm-related transactions.

This crime justifies a prohibition on “stranger-to-stranger” background checks

  • It’s not clear from publicly available information on the Odessa case that the two men involved in the transaction were, in fact, strangers. If anything, it seems unlikely that an illegal manufacturer and seller of guns would have advertised that activity to the general public, hoping to attract strangers to his “business.”
  • Then theres the question of how a stranger-to-stranger background check requirement would even work. How does the government, in other words, determine who knew whom at the time of a gun sale “10%-15% of all guns bought in this country are bought stranger to stranger.” “10%-15% of all guns bought in this country are bought stranger to stranger.”

"10%-15% of all guns bought in this country are bought stranger to stranger."

  • It’s not clear where this claim comes from, but it does not mesh with the apparent source of another claim that Patrick made in the same segment. As explained below, a 2017 survey found about 20% of people who obtained a gun in the last two years did so without a background check. But of these, only 13% purchased the gun, including purchases from friends and acquaintances. The report makes no attempt to determine how many gun sales occur between “strangers.”

“80% of all people who buy guns in America go through a background check –about 20% do not.”

  • This appears to be based on a 2017 online survey of 1,612 gun owners conducted by Harvard and Northeastern University researchers. Respondents opted-in to the survey, and this data point is specifically related to acquisitions within the last two years but is not limited to purchases it includes gifts and inheritances. Thirteen percent (13%) of those who had purchased firearms said they had done so without a background check, but some of these purchases were from friends and acquaintances. 

"Over 90% of all people in prison for a gun crime have purchased their gun from a stranger."

  • This is a case of misusing statistics or possibly just not bothering to read the full report. In January of this year, the Department of Justice released the findings of a survey of prison inmates. They found that 90% of prisoners who possessed a gun during their offense did not obtain it from a retail source. However, this does not mean that they purchased it from a stranger.  The full report offers details not covered in the summary:
  • 25% of inmates obtained the gun from a family member or friend, whether purchased, borrowed, traded, or received as a gift.
  • 43% bought the gun off the street or on the underground market which is specifically explained as illegal sources of firearms that include markets for stolen goods, middlemen for stolen goods, criminals or criminal enterprises, or individuals or groups involved in the sale of drugs.
  • 6% stole the gun.
  • 7% reported having found the gun at the location of the crime.
  • 5% said the someone else brought the gun to the crime.
  • And 6% said they got it from an othersource which is defined as none of the other sources specified,sources for which there were too few responses such as bought online,and bought from an unknown source.

"Over three million people stopped from getting firearms from a background check--one million were convicted felons so they go to the private sector, stranger to stranger."

The mere fact the background check system denied a retail sale does not mean that public safety was served by the denial.

  • The Odessa case shows anything, it shows that simply turning a person away at the counter of a gun shop does not necessarily stop truly dangerous people from going on to commit violent acts.  
  • On the other hand, many of the people turned away by background checks may never have been dangerous in the first place.

July 2004 Office of Inspector General Report found that, in cases in which a licensed dealer had transferred a gun to a person who was later determined to be prohibited, “ATF special agents did not consider most of the prohibited persons who had obtained guns to be dangerous and therefore did not consider it a priority to retrieve the firearm promptly.”Moreover, 35% of those prohibited persons cases detailed in the report were later found to be false denials. 

The bottom line is that Dan Patrick is proposing banning private transfers without understanding the facts or the evidence. 

TRENDING NOW
First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

News  

Monday, October 6, 2025

First Affirmative Lawsuit in Support of Gun Owners Filed by Trump’s DOJ

California officials’ egregious foot-dragging over the issuance of carry permits has finally attracted the ire of the federal Department of Justice (DOJ). 

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

Monday, October 13, 2025

California: Governor Newsom Signs Gun Control Bills Into Law

For someone who has claimed to be"...deeply mindful and respectful of the Second Amendment and people’s Constitutional rights,” Governor Gavin Newsom has once again proven that actions speak louder than words.

Firearm Prohibition Advocates Mute on Jay Jones “Two Bullets to the Head” Scandal

News  

Monday, October 13, 2025

Firearm Prohibition Advocates Mute on Jay Jones “Two Bullets to the Head” Scandal

Democrat Jay Jones, candidate for Virginia attorney general, still has not suspended his campaign, even as pressure mounts over disclosures that should disqualify, to put it mildly, any individual from serving as the chief law ...

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Another Lawsuit Challenging the National Firearms Act

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with the American Suppressor Association, Firearms Policy Coalition, and Second Amendment Foundation—announced the filing of another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Firearms Act of 1934 (NFA).

FBI Persists in Underreporting Armed Citizen Defensive Gun Use

News  

Monday, October 13, 2025

FBI Persists in Underreporting Armed Citizen Defensive Gun Use

Three years ago, Dr. John Lott of the Crime Prevention Research Center (CPRC), writing for RealClearInvestigations, described how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was vastly undercounting, “by an order of more than three the number of instances in ...

Rehearing En Banc Sought in NRA-Supported Challenge to New Jersey’s Carry Restrictions

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

Rehearing En Banc Sought in NRA-Supported Challenge to New Jersey’s Carry Restrictions

Today, the National Rifle Association announced the filing of a petition for rehearing en banc in Siegel v. Platkin, a challenge to New Jersey’s carry restrictions.

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Tuesday, September 30, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Permitless Carry

Last week the North Carolina General Assembly briefly returned from recess and re-referred Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to the House Rules Committee.

US Virgin Islands: Sweeping Gun Control Measures Advance

Wednesday, October 8, 2025

US Virgin Islands: Sweeping Gun Control Measures Advance

The 36th Legislature of the US Virgin Islands is continuing to advance sweeping gun control measures through the legislative process.

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Monday, October 13, 2025

NRA Files Lawsuit Challenging California’s Glock Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association—along with Firearms Policy Coalition, Second Amendment Foundation, Poway Weapons & Gear, and two NRA members—filed a lawsuit challenging California’s Glock ban.

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Thursday, October 9, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Ban on Firearms Possession by Nonviolent Felons

Today, the National Rifle Association, along with the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and FPC Action Foundation, filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to hear a challenge to the federal lifetime prohibition on ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.