AG Ken Paxton threatens to sue Dallas over gun policy at State Fair of Texas

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office announced Wednesday that it found the State Fair of Texas’ new gun policy violates Texas law and threatened to sue the city of Dallas if the policy is not fixed in 15 days.
The fair announced last week that licensed gun holders cannot bring their weapons into the annual event, a choice made partially in response to a shooting last year that wounded three people. Only active police officers and qualified retired officers will be allowed to carry guns at the event held from Sept. 27 to Oct. 20 at Dallas’ Fair Park.
A letter from the AG’s office to the city of Dallas found the policy to be a violation of state law because Fair Park is a city-owned property leased to the State Fair of Texas for the duration of the fair.
The letter cites state law prohibiting lower government entities from banning handguns on government property unless there is a special exception, such as for schools.
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“We are reviewing the letter from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and will respond accordingly,” a city of Dallas spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News via email Wednesday evening.
In a written statement, a spokesperson for the fair said that it was aware of the letter and that it appeared the AG’s office — which called the fair a nonprofit — was “seeking clarification” about the relationship between the fair and the city.
The fair is a private, not-for-profit organization with a long-term lease agreement with the city, said fair spokesperson Karissa Condoianis. It is not a government entity.
“We have not spoken with the City yet but stand ready to cooperate with them, as needed,” the statement said.
The fair, which is expected to attract more than 2 million fairgoers, will still use the weapon detection system introduced last year. A curfew will return for those 17 and younger. Other changes to fair security include a bag size policy, a redesigned entry and a 24-hour security command center.
The move from the AG comes after more than 70 Texas lawmakers issued a letter on Monday urging the fair to change course and rescind the policy. It said that “gun-free zones are a magnet for crime because they present less of a threat to those who seek to do evil.”
A statement from the fair in response to the letter from lawmakers said the decision came after consulting with security partners and reviewing the policies of other similar events in Texas.
“The Fair strongly believes that this is the right decision moving forward to ensure a safe environment and family-friendly atmosphere,” the statement reads.
Across the country, and especially in Texas, the public carrying of handguns has become an “especially politically charged issue” over the past 10 years, said Eric Ruben, an associate professor of law at Southern Methodist University.
Politics around guns are “obviously playing a large role here,” he said, adding that the “regulatory landscape,” law and politics around the issue have been shifting. Policies generally have become more relaxed, which puts more tension on gun-free zones, he said.
“Gun-free zones have become a focal point for policymakers and for gun rights activists, and so this whole dispute is happening against that backdrop,” Ruben said.
After 2021, a permit was no longer required to carry a handgun in most places in Texas. He said permitless carry could be feeding into concerns at the fair because “it becomes much more difficult to implement a policy that allows some people, like those with permits, to come in but not those without permits.”
Ruben said the dispute about the fair’s new policy raises difficult questions about the property rights of people leasing from the government and the rights of gun carriers, with the rights being “pitted against each other.”