The ongoing battle over Texas State Fair officials banning concealed carry during this year’s fair, set to open on September 27 in Dallas, has resulted in a lawsuit.
On Thursday, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the City of Dallas and the Texas State Fair over the decision, which was a direct turnaround from the previous carry policy. In the lawsuit, Paxton asked the court to grant injunctive relief to prevent the City of Dallas or the State Fair of Texas from enforcing the unlawful ban on firearms.
“Municipalities cannot nullify state law nor can they avoid accountability by contracting official functions to nominally third parties,” Paxton said in a release announcing the filing. “Neither the City of Dallas nor the State Fair of Texas can infringe on Texans’ right to self-defense. I warned 15 days ago that if they did not end their unlawful conduct I would see them in court, and now I will.”
As some background, on August 8, the State Fair of Texas announced it was changing its weapons policy to prohibit attendees from exercising their right to carry at the event. In the past, licensed concealed carry had been permitted in the park. Since the announcement, pro-freedom lawmakers and AG Paxton have been working to get the decision overturned.
The lawsuit file on Thursday, State of Texas v. City of Dallas, states: “While there are some premises or buildings within Fair Park where a license holder is prohibited … from carrying a weapon, such as certain premises or buildings within Fair Park when they are used for a high school, collegiate, professional sporting or interscholastic events, the vast majority of the 277-acre Fair Park in Dallas is not a place where weapons or firearms are prohibited.”
Also in the filing, the attorney general argued that citizens who were denied their right to carry a concealed handgun at the fair would suffer damage.
“The Texas Legislature recognized the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and also recognized that Section 23, Article I, of the Texas Constitution secures for Texas citizens the right to keep and bear arms and that the Legislature has the power, by law, to regulate the wearing of arms, with a view to prevent crime,” the lawsuit states. “The Texas Legislature passed the Firearm Carry Act of 2021, (H.B. 1927) which was signed by Governor Abbott and became effective September 1, 2021, amending various statutory provisions allowing most people 21 and older to carry a handgun in Texas without a license to carry. Our state government and the political subdivisions of our state, including the City of Dallas and City officials, must respect the actions of our Legislature and allow the unlicensed carry of a firearm on government property unless it is specifically prohibited by law, such as those premises or places identified in Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 46.03.”
In the end, the lawsuit asks the District Court of Dallas County to declare the carry ban invalid before the fair begins on September 27.
“Plaintiff asks the Court to enjoin the defendants from acting outside their legal authority by banning guns and by allowing the police to arrest people who violate the illegal ban,” the complaint states. “The Court should also order defendants to perform the purely ministerial act of allowing people to enter the Park while exercising their constitutional right to carry a handgun and should order the police not to arrest people who exercise their constitutional right to carry a handgun.”
