Texas Bill Would Ensure State Fair Isn’t a ‘Gun-Free Zone’

After the board of the Texas State Fair decided that lawful concealed carry would no longer be allowed on the premises last year, Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a lawsuit challenging the change, arguing that it unlawfully prohibited gun owners from exercising their rights in places owned or leased by government bodies and political subdivisions. 

Unfortunately the state Supreme Court rejected Paxton’s appeal and allowed the restriction to be enforced during the fair’s 2024 run. This year, however, some lawmakers in Austin are hoping to enact legislation that would explicitly undo the board’s action… and remove its authority to impose any new “gun-free zones” in the future. 

Texas Sen. Bob Hall, R-Rockwall, is now attempting to fight the ban with legislation imposing fines for any contractor attempting to prohibit license holders from carrying a handgun on government-owned property. Hall said the restrictions by the State Fair undermine the intent of state law and Second Amendment rights and create unnecessary barriers for responsible gun owners.

NBC 5 contacted representatives with the State Fair for comment on the legislation, but has not yet received a reply.

If SB1065 passes and is signed into law, it’d go into effect on Sept. 1.

This year’s State Fair of Texas runs from Sept. 26 to Oct. 19.

This is a fairly (no pun intended) common sense step to take, though anti-gun media outlets and Democratic lawmakers will surely raise a stink about allowing folks to “tote guns on the midway” if SB 1065 starts making progress. 

At the moment, though, whether or not SB 1065 will see any movement remains an open question. A public hearing on the bill took place last week, but the Senate State Affairs Committee took no immediate action to advance the bill, and it’s unclear at the moment when or even if a committee vote will happen. 

Lawmakers have a little more than a month to get SB 1065 out of the upper chamber and over to the House, or else the bill will be dead for this session. And since the Texas legislature only meets every other year, if Hall’s bill doesn’t become law this year it’s almost certainly going to mean the fair’s “gun-free zone” will remain in effect until 2027. 

A similar bill was filed in the House by Rep. Briscoe Cain this session, but HB 1715 hasn’t even been assigned to a committee as of today. If HB 1715 isn’t reported out of committee by May 12, it too will be dead for the session, so gun owners who don’t want to leave their firearms behind in their car but would prefer to carry them on their person while visiting the fair need to be in contact with both their state representatives and senators to urge them to get behind these measures instead of just passing largely ceremonial bills like making the cannon the official state gun of the Lone Star State.

The ban was put in place after a 22-year-old opened fire in a food court at the fair in 2023, injuring three people. If anything, that incident underscores the need to be able to protect ourselves and our families, but the fair board decided that forcing lawful gun owners to disarm would somehow be more beneficial to their safety. As we’re all well aware, these “gun-free zones” put people at risk, while failing to deter someone with evil intentions or murder on their mind. The Texas courts should have tossed out the fair’s restriction last year, but the Republican majority in Austin have the opportunity to correct that error and ensure that our right to self-defense doesn’t stop when we walk through the gates of the Texas State Fair this fall.