Attorney General Ken Paxton asked an appeals court to act by Tuesday on his request to block the State Fair of Texas’ new policy banning most people from bringing guns to the fair, which begins Friday.
Paxton seeks to overturn a ruling last week from Dallas County District Court Judge Emily Tobolowsky upholding the new fair policy over protests from the attorney general, who believes the rule violates the rights of gun owners.
Tobolowsky last Thursday denied Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction spurred by a lawsuit against the fair, the city of Dallas and its interim city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert. The attorney general then filed an emergency appeal with the new 15th District Court of Appeals in Austin.
In his motion to the appeals court, Paxton says he wants a ruling by Tuesday to give the Texas Supreme Court time to consider the issue if necessary.
“The trial court denied relief to the state, thereby forcing thousands of law-abiding Texas to choose: forgo a right guaranteed to them by the Constitution and recognized by statute or be excluded from a place of public accommodation,” the motion says. “And, absent temporary relief now, it is highly unlikely that any appellate court will be able to review that decision in time for this year’s fair, which is scheduled to begin on September 27 and ends on October 20.”
Under the new fair policy announced in August, only elected, appointed, or employed peace officers will be allowed to bring firearms onto the fairgrounds. The fair previously allowed any attendee with a valid handgun license to bring a gun as long as it was concealed, but state law doesn’t require Texans to have a permit to carry a firearm in a public place.
The policy change comes after a man shot three people at the fair last year.
Paxton sued the city, Tolbert and the state fair in August, arguing they were violating a state law that prevents local governments from banning licensed gun holders from property the government owns. Dallas leases the city-owned 277-acre Fair Park to the State Fair for the annual event. Paxton’s office argues that the city, as essentially the landlord, should force the nonprofit State Fair not to enforce the policy.
Fair officials and attorneys have said the new policy is meant to increase fairgoers’ safety, and the law Paxton cited doesn’t apply to private groups that temporarily use the space. They have pointed to other events around the state with similar restrictions, like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
City attorneys have said Dallas officials have no say in fair policies, and as Fair Park’s lessee, the nonprofit can enact whatever rules it wants for the 24 days of the event.
Attorneys representing the city and the fair reiterated their arguments in responses filed Tuesday asking the court to deny Paxton’s emergency motion.
“This case centers on private property rights and the interpretation of a specific statute, not gun rights,” said a response from State Fair of Texas attorneys. “The key issue is whether a private entity that conducts an admission-only event on property leased from a city can prohibit firearms at its private event without state interference. That answer should be yes.”
Paxton previously issued legal opinions saying private groups could ban people from coming onto leased government-owned property with guns. He rejected a complaint in 2016 over the privately-run Dallas Zoo banning guns from its city-owned property.
Earlier this month, Paxton withdrew a legal opinion issued by his office in a separate 2016 case saying nonprofits have the right to ban firearms from property leased from the government. That opinion, prompted by Erath County Attorney Lisa Pence on whether a nonprofit can restrict people with firearms from coming onto property owned by a city, was cited in an Aug. 14 letter to Paxton by two Republican state lawmakers asking the attorney general’s opinion on the State Fair’s new policy.