Patrick estimated that 5% to 8% of gun sales are from private gun owners to strangers, transactions that allow for potential mischief because a background check is not required.

In 2019, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for expanding background checks to private gun sales between strangers. Then he quietly dropped the issue.

Patrick’s push for expanded background checks would only accelerate that trend in 2020. “It’s not that we’re going to start voting for Democrats; it’s that we’re going to stop voting ...

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick speaks at a press conference concerning the recently passed Election & Ballot Security Bill, also known as Senate Bill 7, at the Texas Capitol on April 7, 2021.

As bold as Patrick’s defiance of the NRA seems, it’s not quite as risky as it looks. First, he doesn’t face reelection till 2022, a political eternity away.