According to the latest ruling, the prohibition on guns at the State Fair will remain in effect for now.
In August, State Fair officials announced a gun ban during the 2024 fair. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Paxton responded by filing a lawsuit against both the State Fair and the City of Dallas.
District Judge Emily Tobolowsky ruled during an injunction hearing on September 19 that the gun ban could remain in effect, as reported by KERA News.
The dispute centers around a Texas law that prevents state agencies and political subdivisions like Dallas from banning law-abiding gun owners from bringing their weapons to an owned or leased property.
Jim Harris, an attorney for the State Fair, argued that Texas law does not apply to his client because it is classified as a private nonprofit.
“The State Fair of Texas is not an agent of the city of Dallas,” said Jim Harris, attorney for the State Fair. “The State Fair of Texas has not been delegated any governmental powers or authority by the city of Dallas.”
Ernest Garcia, chief of the administration law division for Paxton, countered that the Texas law does apply to the State Fair because it operates under the authority of the Dallas City government.
“This case is about public policy and its application to public property,” Garcia said. “This is not a case about private property rights or interests.”
Alex Dubeau, an administrative law investigator for Paxton, said that after reviewing the lease agreement for the State Fair, he concluded that law-abiding gun owners have a right to carry at the event. Dubeau was the lone witness for Paxton’s case.
“They had allowed firearms previously, and I see that all of a sudden they’re not because of an incident that happened from an unlicensed gun holder,” Dubeau said. “So, the unlicensed gun holder committed a crime last year, and now this year, they punish license holders by not allowing them to defend themselves.”
An outside lawyer for Dallas said the City is not liable in the case because it was not involved in the State Fair’s decision to enforce a gun ban, KERA News reported. The attorney continued to argue that the case had no merit because Paxton did not first approach the City with legal concerns.
A man opened fire with a handgun at the State Fair of Texas in October of 2023, wounding three people. Video evidence showed the man fired his gun after several men approached him in a crowded food court at the event, DX previously reported.
Paxton has only days to appeal the injunction ruling, as the State Fair of Texas opens on September 27.