Attorney General Ken Paxton Files Appeal to Prevent Unlawful State Fair of Texas Firearms Ban From Taking Effect
As it stands today, you will not be allowed to bring a firearm into the State Fair of Texas. This is subject to change, although experts agree that Paxton’s appeal has only a small chance of overturning the recent decision to ban firearms.
September 24, 2024 – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an appeal with the 15th Court of Appeals, asking the court to prevent the City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas from imposing a firearms ban on government-owned property in violation of Texas law.
The City of Dallas owns Fair Park and leases the property to the State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit organization, for the management of the annual event. Earlier this year, the State Fair announced that it would be banning people with license to carry permits from exercising their rights at Fair Park. Such a policy directly violates state law which permits licensed gun owners to carry in places owned or leased by governmental entities unless otherwise prohibited by law.
In August 2024, Attorney General Paxton sent a notice letter to the City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas warning that the firearms ban was unlawful and then sued to stop the ban from taking effect. A district court denied the Office of the Attorney General’s motion for a temporary injunction against the ban, prompting Attorney General Paxton to file an appeal with the 15th Court of Appeals.
Now, Attorney General Paxton has asked the court to grant emergency temporary relief prohibiting the City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas from preventing handgun-license holders from lawfully carrying their firearms on fairgrounds.
“The City of Dallas and the Texas State Fair are not above the law, and we are seeking emergency relief to uphold Texans’ Constitutionally-protected Second Amendment rights,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The State Fair’s policy—by which law-abiding citizens could not defend themselves—does not make the environment safer, it merely gives an advantage to criminals looking for victims.”
