The fair banned firearms in 2024 after a shooting at Fair Park. Paxton’s lawsuit has faced multiple setbacks, the latest from a court appointed entirely by Gov. Greg Abbott.
An all-Republican Texas appeals court has delivered another blow to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s challenge of the State Fair’s firearms ban, just over a month before the annual weekslong event returns to Dallas.
In his 2024 lawsuit against the city and the private nonprofit that operates the fair, Paxton argued that the policy violated a state law that bars local governments from limiting guns in most public spaces. The event takes place at Fair Park, which the city owns and leases to the fair organizer.
On Thursday, the three justices on the 15th Court of Appeals unanimously affirmed a lower court’s rejection of Paxton’s argument. In particular, their ruling held that the state law only applies to the conduct of government entities, while nodding at the city’s consistent position that it has no role in making or overseeing the fair’s policy.
“It does not apply to private entities such as the State Fair,” the opinion said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the State Fair of Texas said the nonprofit is pleased with the decision and believes the policy is “the correct decision” to protect attendees’ safety.
The attorney general’s office and the city of Dallas didn’t respond to comment requests.
The fair’s gun ban began in 2024, a year after a shooting that injured three people at the event.
Dozens of Texas House Republicans pushed back against the policy, saying that it makes the event “less safe.” Paxton quickly sued to overturn the restrictions, before withdrawing a 2016 legal opinion he issued that gave private nonprofits the ability to ban firearms on land they lease from a city.
But Paxton’s effort has suffered multiple defeats in courts.
In 2024, the Texas Supreme Court denied his emergency filing to block the fair’s policy. The following year, a Dallas County district court granted the city of Dallas and the State Fair summary judgment and dismissed the case.
The Dallas Morning News reported last month that the State Fair is planning to ban guns at this year’s event.
Source: Alex Nguyen, The Texas Tribune
Photo Credit: The State Fair of Texas in 2016. Allison V. Smith for The Texas Tribune
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