Texas Democrat Senate candidate James Talarico endorsed a ban on “assault weapons” in a little-seen 2020 interview, despite claiming to be a “believer in the Second Amendment” while running for higher office.

Talarico, a state legislator who beat Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) for the party’s nomination to face off against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) in November’s general election, trashed the sanctity of the gun rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution in a livestream with South Asian American Voter Empowerment, or SAAVE TX. 

“A lot of politicians like to talk about the Second Amendment,” the lawmaker told the organization’s hosts. “Very few have actually read the Second Amendment, because if they did they would know that the words ‘well regulated’ are right there in the text of the amendment itself.”

According to Talarico, the limits placed on gun ownership can be compared to the First Amendment not including the “freedom to yell ‘fire’ in a crowded theater.”

“The same is true of the Second Amendment,” he argued. “There’s a right to bear arms but it’s not unlimited and we can put commonsense restrictions and limitations on that right.”

Talarico went on to list policies he supports, including universal background checks, “closing the gun show loophole,” and a tiered certification system for gun licensure.

While those are stances he has maintained his public support for on the campaign trail, Talarico briefly touched on his “top priorities” to change gun laws later in the 2020 interview — revealing his more extreme anti-gun nature. 

“I think universal background checks, I think closing the gun show loophole, assault weapon ban, large capacity magazine ban, I think restricting large firearm purchases, I think even we should start to think about handgun design safety standards as well,” Talarico stated. “So probably in that order are the things I’m most interested in championing and working on.”

It appears that gun rights groups have not yet seen that interview, which only has 130 views on YouTube at time of this article’s publishing. 

The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Harold Hutchison wrote in March: 

The dynamic in the Texas House allowed Talarico to adopt his public persona as a moderate who eschews more extreme anti-Second Amendment proposals, like bans on so-called “assault weapons.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) shared that analysis on social media, concluding that Talarico’s persona hides his real intentions, including opposing constitutional carry and promoting red flag laws:

What the NRA did not appear to realize, based on its caption, is that Talarico also supports a highly controversial and blatantly anti-Second Amendment “assault weapons ban.”

Recent polls show Talarico has lost his lead on Paxton as they both vie for Sen. John Cornyn’s (R-TX) current seat which he lost to Paxton in the Republican primary. 

Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.