A House bill prohibiting city and county governments in Texas from holding gun buyback events will soon be heading to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk. The Senate passed the bill on Wednesday without amendments.
House Bill 3053 would bar local governments from organizing, sponsoring or participating in events to purchase firearms from civilians, with the intent of reducing the number of guns in circulation. The measure appears aimed directly at local governments such as Houston and Harris County, which have held several such events in recent years.
"While these programs are often promoted as a tool to reduce firearm violence by offering cash, gift cards, or other incentives in exchange for firearms, the evidence tells a different story," said state Rep. Wes Virdell (R-Brady) when he introduced the bill to the House Committee on Homeland Security, Public Safety, and Veterans' Affairs last month.
Virdell cited a number of studies — notably from the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank, and the nonpartisan Rand Corporation – which concluded that gun buyback programs are ineffective at reducing gun-related homicides or suicides. He said that, in practice, most of the firearms collected in gun buyback programs are "outdated, neglected, or inoperable."
"The bottom line is this," Virdell said. "Local governments are using public funds to buy back firearms that have little to no impact on public safety. It's a misuse of taxpayer money and does not deliver the results that citizens expect or deserve."
The bill's authors include state Rep. Briscoe Cain (R-Deer Park). Its co-sponsors in the Senate include state Sens. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe) and Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham).
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."
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."
Copyright 2025 Houston Public Media News 88.7