Texas Democratic Senate nominee James Talarico is drawing criticism from constitutional law attorney and Fox News contributor Jonathan Turley after claiming the Second Amendment’s reference to a “well regulated” militia shows that broad gun restrictions are compatible with the Constitution.
In a resurfaced video from a 2020 online event, Talarico argued that politicians who oppose gun control legislation often fail to read the amendment’s text closely.
“A lot of politicians like to talk about the Second Amendment,” Talarico said. “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.”
Talarico went on to endorse universal background checks, closing what he called the gun show loophole, a tiered licensing system, restrictions on large firearm purchases, and bans on so-called assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.
Turley points to the word Talarico left out
Turley responded Sunday by noting that Talarico omitted the word immediately following “well regulated”: militia.
The Second Amendment reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
According to Turley, “well regulated” did not refer to modern administrative restrictions on individual gun ownership. In the language of the founding era, he wrote, the phrase described a militia that was orderly, properly trained, and prepared for service.
“A well-regulated militia meant state militias that were combat-ready,” Turley wrote.
That distinction undercuts Talarico’s argument that the phrase itself grants the government broad authority to regulate privately owned firearms.
Supreme Court recognized an individual right
Turley also pointed to the Supreme Court’s modern Second Amendment cases.
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the court held that the amendment protects an individual right to possess firearms unrelated to service in a state militia. The majority treated the militia clause as an explanation for protecting the right, not as a condition limiting it only to organized militia members.
The court later expanded that protection in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen, holding that ordinary, law-abiding citizens have a constitutional right to carry firearms in public for self-defense. The ruling also instructed courts to evaluate gun laws by examining whether they are consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Those decisions reject the central premise that the words “well regulated” transform the right to keep and bear arms into a privilege subject to whatever restrictions lawmakers consider reasonable.
Talarico backs sweeping restrictions
The resurfaced footage shows Talarico supporting policies extending well beyond background checks.
He proposed a “tiered certification system for gun licensure,” although he did not explain how the tiers would work or which firearms would require higher levels of government approval. He also backed handgun design standards and bans on commonly owned semiautomatic rifles and standard-capacity magazines.
Gun rights groups accused him of attempting to turn a constitutional right into a government permission system.
Talarico has framed his position differently, arguing that constitutional rights can be regulated and comparing gun restrictions to limits placed on speech and public assembly.
Gun debate enters Texas Senate race
The exchange gives Republicans another line of attack against Talarico as he campaigns for the U.S. Senate in Texas.
Turley said the candidate’s interpretation is not merely disputed political rhetoric but inconsistent with the text’s historical meaning and the Supreme Court’s binding interpretation.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly held that a ‘well regulated militia’ was not a limitation but a justification for the individual right,” Turley wrote.
Talarico’s broader gun control agenda will likely remain a major issue in a state where firearms ownership and Second Amendment rights carry significant political weight.
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