The State Fair of Texas is more than a century old but a new policy on guns has landed Big Tex in court. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the state fair for its policy restricting fairgoers from carrying firearms — claiming the fair and the city don't have the "legal or statutory authority to do so."
Texas is a permit-less open-carry state and Paxton argues because the state fair takes place on public property this state fair gun ban is illegal.
David Coale, an appellate attorney in Dallas, says the case may largely come down to who the judge believes is the owner of the land during the fair.
"The question here is, who owns the state fair? Who owns fair park? Is it a public place and under the law because the city of Dallas owns it, or has it ceased being a public place because there's a business lease in place like any other business has, and the owner of the property under that lease, the State Fair has the right, like anybody else, to say who comes and who goes and what they can bring with them," Coale said.
Last year three people were injured during a shooting at the fair, prompting an evacuation of the 277-acre park.
In a statement, the State Fair of Texas said "we believe we have the right to make this decision and maintain that it is the correct decision to protect the safety of our patrons."
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Fair organizers announced they have increased security this year and will only allow elected, appointed or employed peace officers through the gates with a firearm. In years past any attendee with a valid handgun license could bring a gun inside.
Dozens of Republican lawmakers across the state condemned the decision in a letter – claiming it will make the fair "less safe."
Texas House Member Brian Harrison told Scripps News, "what I want is for 30 million Texans, all of whom are probably making decisions whether to go to the fair this year or not, to be able to enjoy it, to enjoy it safely. And fortunately, that goes hand in glove with exercising their Second Amendment rights."
Coale says a decision in Paxton's favor could have bigger implications statewide.
"All across the state, not just the state fair but the zoo, the aquarium, you know, even more sort of ordinary things like some warehouse the city may lease out, it would say that no matter what you may have in your lease contracted for nevertheless, because it's public land, there's always gonna be a right to carry a firearm. That's a pretty big change," Coale said.
An injunction hearing to decide if fairgoers will be allowed to conceal and carry is scheduled for Thursday morning.
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