Attorney General Ken Paxton this week withdrew an eight-year-old legal opinion that gave private nonprofits the green light to ban guns on land they lease from a city – a move that comes as Paxton challenges the nonprofit State Fair of Texas’ ban on firearms.
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Paxton, a Republican who ardently opposes gun restrictions, sued the city of Dallas and state fair officials last month, arguing the State Fair of Texas had violated state law that largely bars local governments from restricting firearms on land they own or lease. Fair Park, the site where the fair is held, is owned by the city of Dallas and leased to the nonprofit that runs the fair. The event is set to run from Sept. 27 through Oct. 20.
In court filings, Paxton argued that the private fair organizer “acts under authority” of the city and cannot ban guns at the site. City and fair officials have insisted the city has nothing to do with how the nonprofit operates the event and played no role in this year’s gun ban – thus making the policy fair game, they argue. Both entities say the attorney general’s case is at odds with an opinion he issued in 2016 , which found that private entities could post notices banning guns on government-leased land without fear of civil penalty as long as said government “has no control over the decision to post such notice.”