NRA hosts gun expo in Fort Worth as lawmakers call for more gun regulations

FORT WORTH, Texas - As the National Rifle Association comes to the Metroplex for a large expo, the state's lieutenant governor is defying the pro-gun rights group.

Dan Patrick said he is interested in creating more gun regulation when it comes to private gun sales.

He believes background checks are needed when guns are sold person-to-person, just like retail sales.

This news comes as the NRA plays host to a gun expo in Fort Worth.

This NRA expo was planned months before the back-to-back mass shootings in Texas.

Some gun owners said they're tired of the political rhetoric surrounding gun control, with several even opposed to Governor Greg Abbott's new executive orders aimed at preventing future shootings.

At the NRA Personal Protection Expo in Fort Worth, the topic of gun laws and restrictions are on many people's minds.

“We need to leave it alone in my opinion,” one person at the expo said.

Two deadly mass shootings in Texas that happened within weeks of each other are sparking political fodder on the presidential campaign trail.

Former Texas Democratic Congressman Beto O'Rourke is calling for the most restrictive all-out ban on assault-style weapons at a campaign stop in Boston on Thursday.

“Not just ending the sales of these weapons of war, these AK-47s and AR-15s, but going well beyond that. Buying back every AR-15 and AK-47 that's on the streets,” the presidential hopeful said.

The NRA strongly opposes such a proposal as massively overreaching.

“I do think it's unfortunate that when a tragedy happens, immediately we're pointing towards Americans who just want to protect themselves and keep themselves and their families safe,” NRA spokeswoman Amy Hunter said.

After the El Paso and Ohio mass shootings, a FOX News poll found that two-thirds of registered voters, a majority of them Democrat, now favor banning assault-style weapons, while 90% want more comprehensive background checks.

Nikki Goeser is skeptical.

“I think bad guys don't follow the law. I think a lot of the gun control measures will really only impact law-abiding citizens,” the NRA member said.

O'Rourke's remarks came on the same day that Gov. Abbott issued eight executive orders that are focused largely on strengthening law enforcement's ability to respond to and prevent future shootings, mainly through improving reporting channels between concerned citizens and law enforcement agencies.

The Republican governor is getting push back from some of his own supporters.

“It’s almost a little bit like red flag stuff they're slipping in with executive orders. I never thought Abbott of all people...he's been our champion for conceal carry for obvious reasons,” said Garrett Martin, with Bond Arms.

Martin also said that putting restrictions on private gun sellers, like the lieutenant governor is proposing, would only serve to stop lawful people from selling guns.

He says without putting any new laws in place, a private gun owner could still pay a fee for a perspective customer to go to a gun store and get a background check.