The midway is closed, and revelers are elsewhere, but anger over the unilateral gun ban enacted for this year’s Texas State Fair lingers. Last week, state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and three event attendees filed an updated lawsuit over what they believe are unconstitutional restrictions forced onto law-abiding citizens.
The filing targets the fair and the City of Dallas for encroaching on these rights. Three new plaintiffs are listed in State of Texas v. City of Dallas, and they assert that organizers knowingly violated state law.
They ask for $1 million in civil damages and the prohibition to be discarded before the 2025 State Fair opens its gates.
According to the plaintiffs’ complaint, “The City of Dallas may not take any action that states or implies that a license holder who is carrying a handgun under the authority of [state law] is prohibited from entering or remaining on city property, including Fair Park, except where license holders are prohibited from carrying a handgun under [state law].”
Controversy erupted during the planning stages of this year’s fair when organizers announced a new policy prohibiting licensed individuals from carrying a firearm.
Besides obvious Second Amendment concerns, this edict directly contradicts Texas law protecting these rights. Government entities may not prohibit carrying weapons on most of their properties in the Lone Star State, and the list of those exempted from this restriction is quite specific.
As expected, defenders of the Bill of Rights rushed to counter the State Fair’s move. Paxton immediately warned Dallas officials of his intention to fight and gave the city 15 days to reverse course and avoid a protracted legal entanglement.
But the city and fair organizers doubled down, claiming the carry ban was to ensure the safety of attendees. The 2023 Texas State Fair was marred by the shooting of three people by 23-year-old Cameron Turner.
Of course, he did not have a carry permit and would have completely ignored the blanket ban.
Paxton asked for injunctive relief to force the fair to allow attendees to be armed. He argued that “municipalities cannot nullify state law, nor can they avoid accountability by contracting official functions to nominally third parties.”
The AG added that neither the city nor fair officials have the right to infringe on the self-defense capabilities of fairgoers.”
However, three days before the annual event opened on September 27, a Dallas judge ruled that the fair may proceed with the gun ban. This meant that hundreds of thousands of attendees were stripped of their right to bear arms on government property.
A right upheld by Texas state law.
The City of Dallas owns Fair Park, but Paxton noted that the 24-day annual event is operated by the State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit group. Under these auspices, organizers claim the right to ignore state law and ban weapons from the event.
With Dallas owning the park, it does not have the right to allow the nonprofit to violate state law as a third party. Texas explicitly allows lawful gun owners to carry on property owned or leased by local and state governments, with a few exceptions.
Educational institutions and amusement parks are allowed to set their regulations.
Paxton explained that the “vast majority of the 277-acre park” where the State Fair is held is not a place where firearms may be prohibited. There are specific areas of the property, including facilities used for high school and college sporting events, where firearms may be prohibited.
However, the plaintiffs note that these hardly constitute a majority of the fairgrounds.
This battle is far from over and may well extend into next year and right up to the opening of the State Fair. It is yet another example of local governments attempting to nullify state or federal law in their rush to eradicate the Second Amendment.
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