A Dallas County District judge denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s request to block the State Fair of Texas’ new gun ban policy from going into effect when the event kicks off next week.
Judge Emily Tobolowsky said she didn’t believe there was enough evidence showing any laws were being broken by the new restriction, which would limit firearm carriers on the grounds during the 24-day event to elected, appointed or employed peace officers. The ruling at the end of a temporary injunction hearing on Thursday means the new policy will be in place when the Fair begins next week.
Fair organizers announced they would increase security and limit who would be allowed to carry guns into Fair Park on Aug. 8. 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 sought a temporary injunction to stop the new policy from being enforced. Last month, Paxton sued the fair, Dallas and interim city manager Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, arguing the restriction is illegal and infringes on gun owners’ rights. The lawsuit was filed two weeks after Paxton sent a letter to Tolbert threatening legal action unless the city forced the fair to drop its new policy.
Three Texas residents have since been added to the lawsuit as plaintiffs alongside the state.
The suit describes the trio as wanting to exercise their right to carry a firearm onto government-owned property like the 277-acre Fair Park. Two of them are listed as licensed firearm holders, and the third isn’t.
One of the plaintiffs, Max Juusola, filed a complaint with the Attorney General’s office about the new fair policy the day it was announced.
The nonprofit group leases Fair Park from the city for the event, one of the state’s largest annual celebrations and the most attended fair in the country. Dallas officials have maintained city officials weren’t involved in the fair’s decision to enact the new policy, and fair officials say they believe it’s their right to take measures they deem fit to protect patrons.
Paxton and Tolbert didn’t attend Thursday’s hearing, and attorneys representing the state declined to comment afterward. Mitch Glieber, president of the State Fair of Texas, said after the hearing that the judge’s ruling was a victory for the Fair, that he didn’t rule out an appeal from the state, and that fair officials believe the new policy will help keep fairgoers safe.
The State Fair of Texas runs from Sept. 27 through Oct. 20.
This story will be updated.