Judge Denies Ken Paxton's Request To Block State Fair Gun Ban

A Dallas County district judge ruled on Thursday that the State Fair of Texas can proceed with its new rule banning guns, denying an injunction requested by Texas Attorney Gen. Ken Paxton.

On Aug. 29, Paxton filed a request for an injunction against the State Fair and the city of Dallas to keep a new policy banning almost all guns from entering the fair from taking effect. Paxton claimed that the city, which owns Fair Park and leases it to the State Fair of Texas, didn’t have the authority to ban gun owners from bringing their firearms with them onto the premises.

“Fair Park is owned by the City of Dallas which contracts with the State Fair of Texas for the management of the annual fair,” a press release from Paxton’s office said on Aug. 29. “Since state law permits gun owners to carry in places owned or leased by government entities unless otherwise statutorily prohibited, the prohibition represented an unlawful infringement on Texans’ legal rights. Dallas and the State Fair have refused to comply with state law."

On Thursday, Judge Emily Tobolowski disagreed.

The gun policy was announced in August, along with a few other new safety protocols following the 2023 shooting at the fair in which three people were injured on a crowded Saturday night in the food court building.

A spokesperson for the fair said it had no comment on Tobolowski's decision. In August, Karissa Condoianis, senior vice president of public relations for the State Fair of Texas, noted that similar gun bans were commonplace in the U.S.

"The State Fair has adopted a similar policy to that of most mass community gathering events like athletic competitions, concerts, and other Fairs throughout the state and across the nation. The State Fair of Texas spends millions of dollars per year on safety and security measures," Condoianis said in an Aug. 14 statement to the Observer. "Furthermore, the Dallas Police Department has a substation at Fair Park. A combined total of more than 200 uniformed and armed DPD officers and State Fair Safety Team members are patrolling the fairgrounds whenever the gates are open. We take the safety of the State Fair very seriously and will continue to do so."

According to WFAA, during Thursday’s hearing, the matter of Paxton’s withdrawal of a 2016 opinion concerning guns at the Fort Worth Zoo featured prominently. Similar to Dallas' arrangement with the State Fair of Texas, Fort Worth owns the zoo property but contracts with the private nonprofit Fort Worth Zoological Association to manage the zoo.

While subdivisions of state government — cities, in this case — cannot ban firearms unless specifically allowed by state law, the opinion said that the rule doesn't apply to private entities leasing property from cities. Paxton, however, had a change of heart and withdrew that opinion earlier this month.

"A reviewing court would likely conclude that under existing law, a private, non-profit corporation such as the association is not considered a political subdivision of the state," Paxton's office wrote in 2016.