Fairgoers join Ken Paxton in suing Texas State Fair for allegedly violating their gun rights

DALLAS, Texas (TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Three fairgoers have joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton by suing the State Fair of Texas and the city of Dallas over the fair’s policy of banning all firearms from its properties.

Monday’s filing is Paxton’s latest maneuver in an ongoing battle over the State Fair and the gun ban. In September, a day before the event started, the Texas Supreme Court denied Paxton’s request to overturn the policy — which states it has no role in “deciding whether the State Fair made a wise decision” — after a Dallas District Court judge granted it the weapons ban remains in place.

Paxton filed the update naming the latest plaintiffs in his ongoing case in Dallas District Court, which is expected to be heard again next year.

In it, Paxton accuses State Fair and city officials of violating state law that prohibits most government agencies from banning guns on their properties. Paxton also says officials violated the constitutional rights to bear weapons of fairgoers Maxx Juusola, Tracy Martin and Alan Crider. They are seeking up to $1 million in civil damages and allowing people to carry weapons on the fairgrounds.

After the Supreme Court ruling, Paxton said in a news release that he would continue to raise the issue on “the merits of upholding the ability of Texans to defend themselves.”

Dallas owns Fair Park, where the 24-day event takes place annually, but State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit organization, operates the park and several city buildings and walkways within the property, annually. 25 year agreement between the two entities. A week before the Dallas District Court hearing, Paxton withdrew an eight-year-old legal opinion allowing private nonprofits to ban guns on land they lease from a city.

Paxton continues to argue that since Dallas owns Fair Park, the nonprofit’s policy change violates state law, which allows licensed gun owners to transport weapons to places owned or leased by government agencies unless otherwise prohibited by state law. according to Paxton’s lawsuit. Texas law states that schools and courtrooms are considered gun-free zones and allows others, such as amusement parks or educational institutions, to institute their own gun bans.

In his letter to the interim city manager Over the summer, Paxton acknowledged that some buildings on Fair Park grounds, such as the Cotton Bowl and other buildings used for scholastic events, are areas where guns are prohibited under state law.

“However, all or the vast majority of Dallas’ 277-acre Fair Park is not a place where guns are prohibited,” Paxton wrote.

The city of Dallas disagreed with Paxton’s allegations, explaining that city officials were not involved in the State Fair’s decision to enforce a gun ban.

“The State Fair of Texas is a private event managed and controlled by a private nonprofit organization and not by the city,” a Dallas spokesperson said in a statement.

Honest officials claim that as a private non-profit organization they can enforce a gun ban.