In just a few weeks tens of thousands of visitors will flock to the Texas State Fair to take in the sights, sounds, and all the fried food their stomachs can handle. But will licensed concealed carry holders be able to lawfully carry, or will the Fair Board’s decision to ban firearms from the sprawling fairgrounds still be in place? 

We’ll soon learn the answer. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and fair officials will square off in a Dallas courtroom today, with a judge set to rule whether the fair board and the city of Dallas overstepped their bounds by declaring the fairgrounds a “gun-free zone”. 

The State Fair implemented the new gun policy following a shooting last year, although the suspect in that case was not a licensed gun owner.

Dozens of Republican lawmakers called for the fair to reverse course. When the fair refused, Paxton quickly sued the City of Dallas, claiming the city is responsible for rules on its property.

In its last session, the state legislature expanded gun rights on public property.

Constitutional lawyer David Coale believes Paxton is leaning on that statute.

“The practical problem is most public places where people want to go aren’t operated by the government. It’s the State Fair, the aquarium, the zoo. It’s some private business operating on a lease by the city. So, yeah, we’ve got this new statute, but what is unclear is who really owns this property when you have a lease,” Coale said.

Dallas and fair officials maintain that while the city owns the 277-acre Fair Park property, it’s a private entity that runs the fair itself, and the fair board should be able to set its own policies… including prohibiting the lawful carry of firearms. 

In his complaint, however, Paxton argues that “while there are some premises or buildings within Fair Park where a license holder is prohibited under Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 46.03(a)(8) from carrying a weapon, such as certain premises or buildings within Fair Park when they are used for a high school, collegiate, professional sporting or interscholastic events, the vast majority of the 277-acre Fair Park in Dallas is not a place where weapons or firearms are prohibited.”

Some defenders of the ban have pointed out that eight years ago Paxton released an opinion saying non-profits could prohibit firearms on property they lease from municipalities, but that opinion was issued long before the state legislature expanded the ability for lawful gun owners to bear arms on public property. 

Paxton’s complaint was filed in state, not federal court, and while the lawsuit references the legislature’s support for the Second Amendment, the Attorney General isn’t bringing a specific cause of action alleging that the fair board’s action is a violation of the right to keep and bear arms. Today’s hearing will feature plenty of debate about the scope of the state statute in question, but we’re not likely to hear a discussion or argument over whether the fairgrounds are a “sensitive place” where guns can be banned without infringing on our Second Amendment rights. 

With the Texas State Fair set to open for business next Friday, there’s not much time to resolve this issue, but the judge could at least issue an injunction against the fair board’s actions while the case is decided on the merits. That would be the most appropriate step, in my opinion, but either way, we expect the losing party to immediately appeal whatever decision is handed down.