In late September, millions of Lone Star residents will make the pilgrimage to North Texas to indulge in all things fried food, live music and fireworks at the State Fair of Texas. But for those toting, they’ll need to leave those firearms at home.
In October 2023, three people were shot at the State Fair after Cameron Turner — who’s since pled guilty for unlawful carrying of a weapon in a prohibited place and was sentenced to 12 years in prison — opened fire. Nearly a year later, the State Fair of Texas unveiled in August 2024 its updated weapons policy, which forbade any fairgoers from bringing in “all firearms, knives (other than small pocket knives), clubs, explosive devices, ammunition, chemical dispensing devices, replicas or hoaxes, or weapons of any kind.” It’s a policy made applicable to all areas of the fairgrounds as well as the Cotton Bowl Stadium, with the sole exceptions made for “elected, appointed, or employed peace officers.”
The State Fair of Texas isn’t the only event within the Lone Star State to enact a weapons policy of its kind, with similar protocols enforced at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo along with Rodeo Austin. Despite that, it’s one that landed both the State Fair of Texas and the city of Dallas in the crosshairs of Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Background on Ken Paxton’s lawsuit against Dallas, State Fair of Texas
Days after the State Fair updated its weapons policy, Paxton issued a warning to the City of Dallas to “withdraw the statement made by the State Fair of Texas, the organization contracted to run Fair Park during the annual event, that prohibits citizens from lawfully carrying a firearm on the premise.”…