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 the shooting last year that wounded three people. Only active police officers and qualified retired officers will be allowed to carry guns.
The event, hosted from Sept. 27 to Oct. 20 at Dallas’ Fair Park, will still use the weapon detection system it introduced last year .
A letter from the AG’s office to the city of Dallas found the policy to be a violation of state law, as Fair Park is a city-owned property leased out to the nonprofit State Fair of Texas during 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, like for schools.
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.