DALLAS – A Dallas County judge is hearing arguments Thursday on whether to issue an injunction that would force the State Fair of Texas to allow visitors to carry guns.
The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the State Fair of Texas and the city of Dallas late last month over the fair’s policy that prohibits most visitors from carrying guns or other weapons.
According to the lawsuit, the city and the fair are violating state law by banning most people from bringing firearms onto public property. The dispute boils down to whether the fair, as a private entity leasing public land, is subject to the same legal restrictions around prohibiting guns as the city or another public entity.
The State Fair of Texas implemented its weapons policy after a fairgoer shot and injured three people last year. Despite Paxton’s threats of a lawsuit, the fair decided to keep its policy .
“As a private, not-for-profit organization leasing Fair Park for our annual State Fair, we believe we have the right to make this decision and maintain that it is the correct decision to protect the safety of our patrons,” the fair said in a statement at the time.