The editors at the Dallas Morning News claim they’ve “long supported the Second Amendment right to own firearms”. Oddly, though, the only editorials touching on the Second Amendment that I’ve run across are all in favor of more gun control. They should probably devote their next editorial to outlining what their support actually looks like, since from what I can tell they seem to be much more in favor of restricting, not protecting, the right to keep and bear arms.  

In their latest column the editors praise the decision by the Dallas officials to ban lawful concealed carry at the State Fair, while deriding Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s threat to sue the city if it doesn’t rescind its “gun-free edict”. According to the editors, there’s “no good reason” for anyone other than police to be carrying a firearm at the fair, even after a shooting involving someone carrying a gun illegally that took place last year.

Fair officials announced the new policy last week, saying that it was no longer allowing licensed gun owners to carry their weapons into the park. Previously the fair prohibited guns with the exception of people with a valid handgun license, provided the gun was concealed.

This commonsense change was prompted in large part by last year’s shooting in the fair’s food court. Three people were injured in a scary incident reminiscent of a 1988 shooting that killed one person and injured three others, including a police officer.

Fair officials have rightly prioritized safety above everything else at the fair since that terrible day. Last year’s shooting was the first at the fair since then, and fair officials have once again enhanced their security plan.

Until this year, the policy was that fair-goers with a valid concealed carry license were welcome to lawfully carry on the grounds. Cameron Turner, the man arrested and charged in last year’s shooting, did not possess a carry license, according to police, so he had already violated fair policy. But the Dallas Morning News editors claim without any evidence whatsoever that criminals will abide by the fair’s new policy.

You’d think our state elected officials would applaud and support this effort. Instead, dozens of Republican lawmakers immediately clapped back against the fair’s new gun ban, saying it runs afoul of the Second Amendment.

They falsely say that a gun ban would make patrons more vulnerable to crime. Well, the criminals can’t bring their guns either, and the fair is teeming with trained police who do a great job keeping it safe.

Banning lawful concealed carry does make patrons more vulnerable to crime; both inside the fairgrounds itself as well as in the parking lots outside the gates and fencing surrounding the state fair. It’s the editors who make a false claim that criminals “can’t bring their guns either”. They might not be allowed to bring a gun through the gates, but the metal detectors and other security precautions that were in place last year didn’t prevent Turner from carrying, and they won’t stop any committed criminals at this year’s fair either. 

“Gun-free zones” exist on paper, but in practice, they’re routinely ignored by violent criminals. The Oklahoma State Fair is another “gun-free zone”, but there was a shooting last year involving a suspect who was apparently able to bypass the fair’s metal detectors. The State Fair of Texas can’t guarantee that their “gun-free zone” will actually be firearm-free, but they can promise to punish licensed concealed carry holders who want to protect themselves and their families; a pledge that has the approval of the supposed Second Amendment supporters at the Dallas Morning News, but a stance that is likely to lead to a legal challenge if it’s not undone in the coming days.