‘Not Over’: Texas Supreme Court Shoots Down Bid To Block State Fair Gun Ban

The Texas Supreme Court denied the state’s last-ditch appeal to their verdict that the Texas State Fair’s gun ban was constitutional, according to court documents released Thursday.

The Texas Supreme Court shot down Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s last-ditch request for relief, saying the court could not compel the State Fair of Texas, a private entity, to drop its no guns policy, according to the decision written by Texas Supreme Court Justice Jimmy Blacklock. The policy was adopted in the wake of a shooting at the fair last year that injured three people, according to KERA in August.

“Texans have a right to lawfully carry and the City of Dallas has no authority to contract their rights away to a private entity,” Paxton said in a Friday press release. “This case is not over. I will continue to fight this on the merits to uphold Texans’ ability to defend themselves, which is protected by State law. While Texas clearly prohibits this type of gun ban, I will be working with the Legislature this session to protect law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights on public property.”

Paxton initially sued the City of Dallas and the State Fair in August for their no-gun policy, challenging specifically the City of Dallas’ legal enforcement of such a policy, and not whether or not the State Fair could adopt it, according to court documents. Since Fair Park is government property leased to the State Fair of Texas, Paxton argued that the right to bear arms extends to the fair grounds, regardless of the State Fair’s private status,