Chris McNutt

Chris McNutt (born 1986) is an American conservative activist and gun rights lobbyist who has made headlines[1] for pushing "permitless carry" legislation, also known as "Constitutional Carry". He is the executive director of Texas Gun Rights and the Director of Development for the National Association for Gun Rights, a group that serves as an umbrella coordinator for various state-level pro-gun organizations.[2]

Chris McNutt
McNutt in 2021
Born1986 (age 34–35)
EducationBachelor's degree
Alma materUniversity of North Texas at Dallas
OccupationDirector of Development for National Association for Gun Rights, executive director for Texas Gun Rights
Known forGun rights activism
TitleExecutive director
Political partyRepublican
Websitemcnuttfortexas.com

Political career

During the 2018 primary elections, McNutt's group was accused of attacking then candidate for Texas State Senate Angela Paxton, wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, shortly after an affiliate of its parent organization received a $150,000 donation from the campaign account of Senator Don Huffines. Huffines' twin brother, Phil Huffines, was Paxton's opponent.[3] Paxton defeated Huffines with 54.4% of the vote and went on to become the next state senator for Texas Senate, District 8.[4]

McNutt's activism also extended to the city of Richardson in 2018, where he and his wife created the "Vote NO 4 RISD TRE PAC" to oppose the Richardson Independent School District's tax ratification election.[5][6] The 12.5% property tax increase passed with 53% of the vote with record turnout.[7]

McNutt appeared on the November 5, 2018, cover of Time magazine's "Guns in America" issue as the executive director for Texas Gun Rights.[8]

Following the 2019 Texas legislative session, McNutt asked Governor Abbott to use his line-item veto to remove funding for a Department of Public Safety gun storage program.[9] According to a statement from Texas Gun Rights, "Speaker Dennis Bonnen slipped a $1 million spending spree for the promotion of 'safe gun storage' into the states budget bill."[10]

In 2020, McNutt testified to the Alabama Senate Judiciary Committee in favor of a bill to repeal the Alabama permit requirement for the concealed carrying of pistols.[11] The bill ultimately stalled after failing to gain traction in the Republican-controlled legislature. McNutt and his Texas Gun Rights faced off with the National Rifle Association (NRA) in the 2020 primary election when TXGR-backed candidate Bryan Slaton forced NRA-backed incumbent Dan Flynn into a runoff.[12] Slaton went on to defeat Flynn with over 61% of the vote.[13]

In 2021, McNutt delivered over 118,000 petitions in support of "Constitutional Carry" to the Texas House of Representatives and testified in support of it during a hearing in the Texas House Homeland Security and Public Safety Committee.[14] Texas GOP Chairman Lieutenant Colonel Allen West later partnered with McNutt and his organization to pressure Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and the Texas Senate to pass Constitutional Carry House Bill 1927.[15] Abbott said he would sign the bill if it reached his desk.[16] After the bill passed through both chambers of the legislature, McNutt claimed the Governor removed him from the signing ceremony before signing it into law. [17]

Controversy with Texas Speaker of the House Dennis Bonnen

During the 2019 legislative session, Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Dennis Bonnen accused McNutt of threatening behavior after McNutt, while leafleting Bonnen's neighborhood in support of permitless carry legislation, showed up at his home.[18] Bonnen says that McNutt's actions were the reason he declared McNutt's bill dead.[19]

Bonnen and McNutt had a confrontation at a subsequent Republican Party fundraiser dinner.[20] McNutt demanded an apology from Bonnen[21] and also claimed that he had lied about their interactions.[22]

Texas Speaker Dennis Bonnen's Resignation

The controversy between Chris McNutt and Dennis Bonnen was credited as the reason Empower Texans president Michael Quinn Sullivan secretly recorded a meeting with Bonnen, which was described by Texas Monthly as "the most significant political scandal in Texas politics in many years".[23]. In the recording, Bonnen offered Empower Texans press credentials that would allow them on the floor of the Texas House during the 2021 legislative session. In exchange, Bonnen wanted Empower Texans to target certain Republican representatives in the next primary election for defeat while not criticizing certain other Republicans.[24] After Sullivan released a tape of the meeting, Bonnen announced he would not seek re-election.[25].

"I recorded the meeting not to capture the “locker room” talk or gossip that is typical of meetings in the Austin swamp, but to ensure Bonnen could not lie about the meeting or distort its purpose in the future. I had in mind the lies he told (publicly and without any consequence so far) about Chris McNutt of Texas Gun Rights, and I have heard stories of him doing the same to others, so I wasn’t going to let him do it to me" Michael Quinn Sullivan stated when he released the recording in October 2019. [26]

References
  1. Mulcahy, Patrick Svitek and Shawn (2021-04-17). "After stalling for years, effort to allow permitless carrying of handguns sees major breakthrough in Texas House". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  2. "NAGR Leadership Team". National Association for Gun Rights. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  3. "Don Huffines gave $150K to 'dark money' group, which then attacked his brother's GOP primary opponent, Angela Paxton". Dallas News. 3 October 2018.
  4. "Paxton beats Huffines in bitter Republican primary race for Texas Senate District 8". Dallas News. 6 March 2018.
  5. "Who's behind the push for school tax increases in North Texas?". Dallas News. 27 October 2018.
  6. Russell, Ben. "More North Texas School Districts Turn to TRE for Funds". NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.
  7. Lueckemeyer, Olivia (7 November 2018). "Updated: Property tax increase for Richardson ISD residents passes with 53.45% of the vote". Community Impact Newspaper.
  8. "Guns in America". Time.
  9. "Groups in gun debate make plea to Gov. Abbott on safe storage program". 5 June 2019.
  10. "Some Texas gun rights groups oppose a state-funded gun storage safety campaign. But not the NRA". 6 June 2019.
  11. Cason, Mike (5 March 2020). "Committee approves bill to repeal Alabama pistol permit requirement". AL.com. Retrieved 5 March 2020.
  12. "Rep. Dan Flynn Headed to Runoff Against Challenger Bryan Slaton After Pair's Third Matchup". The Texan. 2020-03-04. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  13. Haslett, Mark. "Slaton Defeats Flynn In GOP Primary Runoff For HD2". www.ketr.org. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  14. "Watch: TXGR testifies for Constitutional Carry! - Texas Gun Rights". txgunrights.org. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  15. mdillon@jacksonvilleprogress.com, Michelle Dillon. "Texas legislature considers permitless, Constitutional carry". Daily Progress Jacksonville, TX. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  16. Svitek, Patrick (2021-04-27). "Gov. Greg Abbott says he'll sign bill allowing permitless carrying of handguns, believes Senate is "making progress"". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  17. Young, Bethany (2021-06-18). "Forcing bad politicians to do good things". Texas Gun Rights. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
  18. Daugherty, Owen (5 April 2019). "Texas House Speaker drops constitutional carry bill after gun rights activist shows up at his home". TheHill.
  19. Casiano, Louis (6 April 2019). "Texas House Speaker declares 'constitutional carry' gun bill dead after gun-rights activist shows up at his home". Fox News.
  20. "Showdown at the J.W. Marriott: What the Bonnen-McNutt Tussle Signals about the Political Wars to Come". Texas Monthly. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  21. Lindell, Chuck. "Gun rights activist demands apology from Bonnen". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  22. Samuels, Alex (2019-04-23). "Gun rights activist Chris McNutt says Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen lied about confrontation". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
  23. Hooks, Christopher (9 August 2019). "The Speaker and the Creeper: Everything You Need to Know About the Craziest Texas Political Scandal in Years". Texas Monthly. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  24. Hooks, Christopher (15 October 2019). "The Bonnen Tape Is Tawdry, Shocking, and Kinda Funny". Texas Monthly. Texas Monthly. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  25. Pollock, Cassandra (22 October 2019). "Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen won't seek reelection after recording scandal". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
  26. "Hearing Bonnen's Deceit". Texas Scorecard. 2019-10-15. Retrieved 2021-12-13.
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