Polygraph

A political candidate wrote three bills to limit gun ownership in Texas.

Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked

Polygraph verdictTrue
Sources
3 support3 context
Said
1 time·
Confidence
60%
The Michael Berry ShowAug 18, 2026
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25 claimsThe check →

Two sources, both from gun-rights advocacy groups, report that Democratic Senate candidate James Talarico authored three Texas bills (all failed) restricting gun carry and licensing, which matches the claim. The post does not name him, so the referent is inferred from context, and the NSSF piece says he 'helped craft' the bills, a minor difference in role.

What was said

… Listen to this: We weren't chasing crazy culture wars. We weren't grandstanding on issues. We were actually solving problems, and so I've seen this work. When you have competitive elections, results, you get better public policy on the back end. This is a guy who wrote three bills to limit gun ownership in Texas, in Texas of all things. This is a guy who fought like hell to do sex changes for children. This is all his record. This is not me making it up. This isn't oppo research. This is not an ex this is not stretching the truth. The bills speak for themselves. His work speaks for itself. …
The Michael Berry Show · · from the transcriptPost →

What we found

Supports. The Washington Examiner reports that Talarico, as a state legislator, authored three bills, all of which failed, to bar carrying under other states' licenses, require background checks to rent firearms at ranges, and tighten gun license requirements.[4]

Supports. NSSF says Talarico's office helped craft three firearm restriction bills rolled out in the Texas legislature in 2019 that ultimately failed, covering concealed carry reciprocity, range rental background checks, and license requirements.[5]

Supports. Texas Gun Rights describes Talarico as having coauthored several restrictive state bills, including HB 22, which would have required store reporting of certain multiple-gun purchases.[6]

Context. None of the tier-1 sources address the bills directly; the supporting sources are partisan advocacy outlets, and the bills concern carry and licensing rules rather than ownership in the broadest sense.[1][2][3]

Sources

6 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 1 primary, 3 not rated

  1. 1Texaspolitifact.com · fact-checker · cited for: context
  2. 2gun control Archives - FactCheck.orgfactcheck.org · fact-checker · cited for: context
  3. 3HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVEScapitol.texas.gov · primary source · cited for: context
  4. 4The Second Amendment is on the ballot in Texas and Michiganwashingtonexaminer.com · not rated · cited for: supports
  5. 5Texas U.S. Senate Candidate's Misunderstanding of Second ... - NSSFnssf.org · not rated · cited for: supports
  6. 6Talarico Wants Gun Bans. Believe Him.texasgunrights.org · not rated · cited for: supports

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Said in 1 published post

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