By: Teresa Mull

Jason Villalba’s anti-gun stance did him no favors in Texas.

Villalba has served as a Republican state representative in North Dallas since 2013. But during the March 6 primary, his opposition to the Second Amendment caught up to him, and Villalba’s incumbency came to a screeching halt as his pro-gun challenger defeated him by 743 votes.

During his tenure as a representative, Villalba voted to expand gun-free zones, refused to go on record supporting “Stand Your Ground” laws, advocated for a special commission to advance gun control laws (“There needs to be common sense gun control reform in Texas!” he said), and spoke out against Constitutional Carry, notoriously tweeting right before the March 2018 primary that his challenger’s (Lisa Luby Ryan) support of permitless carry would mean “…Anyone, including a member of ISIS, can purchase an AR-15.”

Villalba had been sitting comfortably in his District 114 seat for several years, and said brazenly in 2015, “I plead with you. Bring me an opponent next time. Bring someone you think is better than me.”

Villalba got his wish in first-time candidate Ryan, who scored a 100% on the Texas Gun Rights candidate survey.

“I will fight all day long against gun regulation,” Ryan said during her campaign.

Villalba, by contrast, said, “Gun issues are part of the Holy Trinity of modern Republican orthodoxy. Gun issues, abortion, immigration — if you speak outside the confines of what is considered acceptable, you risk being taken out.”

Ryan will face Democrat John Turner in the November election.

Teresa Mull is editor of Gunpowder Magazine. Contact her at [email protected].

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons