Texas may or may not be a "battleground" state in this year's election, but gun control activists are treating it like one. The Michael Bloomberg-backed Everytown for Gun Safety has pledged to spend at least $8 million on what it calls "gun sense candidates" across Texas this year. The group is specifically focused on congressional and state House races.
C.J. Grisham with Open Carry Texas says don't be fooled by phrases like 'gun sense.' "(Everytown) tries to carry themselves is if they are common sense, but they want a complete abolition of the Second Amendment, and they'll do it however long it takes and however much money they have to spend," he tells KTRH.
Everytown made a similar effort in Virginia two years ago, with success in flipping the state legislature there resulting in several gun control laws passed since then. But Texas might be a different story. "Their whole purpose is just to buy elections," says Grisham. "That's what they did in Virginia, they bought elections. But I think Texans are a little bit smarter than that, and they're not gonna let it happen here."
Of course, this year's elections will take place against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. Gun sales have skyrocketed since the start of the pandemic in March. "You would think that if gun control was what's on the hearts and minds of most people, that the number of guns being sold would drop during a pandemic, not rise," says Grisham.
Ultimately, Grisham is not too worried about Everytown's effort. "The reason the anti-gun crowd feels the need to spend so much money is because they think they can buy gun control...but you can't in Texas," says Grisham. "But I would like to thank them for spending all their money in our great state, so that we can continue to solidify our gun rights."