Texas Gun ‘Buyback’ Ban One Step Away From Becoming Law

A bill that would prohibit counties and cities from hosting gun “buyback” programs won final approval in the legislature on Wednesday, and now it’s up to Gov. Greg Abbott to enshrine the measure into Lone Star State law. 

HB 3053 author Rep. Wes Virdell says these compensated confiscation programs are a waste of time and money even though they’re promoted as a way to reduce “gun violence”, and he’s absolutely right. I’ve been covering 2A issues for more than 20 years and I’ve yet to see a study, research, or statistics that show these “buybacks” have a substantive impact on shootings, thefts, or gun-involved injuries. 

As you’d expect, though, the lack of evidence for the effectiveness of “buybacks” hasn’t stopped Democratic politicians from proclaiming that HB 3053 will make Texas a more dangerous place. 

Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, a Democrat running for Congress, said gun buybacks have been highly effective in the Houston area.

“We’ve collected thousands of guns, including handguns, rifles, and even ghost guns,” Menefee said. “I think we all agree that we don’t want guns in the hand of people who could use it to hurt people, and so trying to either request that people turn their guns in or paying them to bring their guns in is a net benefit on society.”

No, it’s not. If folks want to get rid of their guns they can sell them, gift them, or turn them over to police without the expectation of a gift card or other benefit. Government officials “requesting” that people turn their guns in or providing financial compensation for them to forego a fundamental civil right, on the other hand, is an abuse of power that reeks of authoritarianism. 

Menefee said the effect of HB 3053 on Houston and Harris County would be “horrific.”

“You have Republican legislators who take their orders from the NRA and who will do everything they can to show that they prioritize guns and that they feel that everybody should be armed to the hilt when they live in Texas,” he said. “They say buybacks don’t reduce crimes, but these same legislators won’t lift a finger to pass laws that actually do reduce crime.”

Well, they must be doing something right. According to the gun control group Gun Sense Texas, the violent crime rate in the state plummeted by 15% in 2024, with the largest declines reported in El Paso (-43.1%) and Ft. Worth (-30.4%). No one, except maybe Menefee himself, is crediting “buybacks” for the drop in crime. Gun Sense Texas pointed to the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for the steep decline, but that doesn’t make sense either. What we’re really seeing is a return to pre-COVID police staffing levels and what passes for normalcy in the criminal justice system. The crime spike in 2020 and the plateaus in 2021 and 2022 were the aberration. It’s the steady decline in crime that’s been the norm for the past 30 years, and again, compensated confiscation events have nothing to do with it. 

HB 3053 may still face a court challenge if Gov. Abbott signs it into law, but fighting to keep these so-called buybacks in place would be an even bigger waste of taxpayer dollars. If politicians in places like Houston and San Antonio want to “do something” to fight crime, they should target their efforts at the individuals most likely to commit a violent offense instead of paying for Texans to give up their guns.