Texas Court Upholds Gun Ban at State Fair

Texas Attorney General and Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton will have to take his fight over the “gun-free” state fair to the Texas Supreme Court after an appellate court upheld the ban on Thursday. 

Paxton, along with several individual plaintiffs, filed suit after the State Fair of Texas announced in 2024 that the lawful carrying of firearms would no longer be allowed. The move came after a shooting during the fair in 2023, one that was committed by someone who couldn’t legally carry a gun. 

The lawsuit contended that the State Fair of Texas and the City of Dallas, which owns Fair Park, violated state statute with the policy. Section 411.209 of the Texas Government Code prohibits county and local governments from creating new “gun-free zones,” but the defendants argued that since Dallas leases Fair Park to the non-profit State Fair of Texas, it’s not the government imposing a gun ban, but a private entity prohibiting firearms on property it controls. 

A trial court denied Paxton’s request for a preliminary injunction, and the attorney general found no relief in the appellate court or the state Supreme Court. The trial court later granted summary judgment to the defendants, and on Thursday the 15th Court of Appeals upheld that verdict.

Because, as established above, Section 411.209’s handgun ban prohibition applies only to the conduct of state agencies and political subdivisions and not private entities, the State Fair’s handgun ban does not violate the statute. But even if the State Fair itself had liability here, Appellants acknowledge that the lease itself “is silent regarding license holdersc arrying handguns on the premises of Fair Park . . . .” “Action” means “doing something.” The lease’s silence on this matter amounts to passivity by the City, which is the opposite of “doing something.” Accordingly, the City is not violating Section 411.209 by leasing its property to the State Fair.

I don’t think Paxton and the plaintiffs are going to find the relief they’re looking for at the Texas Supreme Court if they appeal Thursday’s decision. The Texas legislature could clear this up in no time with a bill that requires the Texas State Fair be open to lawful gun owners, but while legislation to that effect has been introduced in previous sessions, it has not found enough support to become law. 

So Paxton now has a choice, and it’s one that could impact his Senate run. Appeal the decision and Democrat James Talarico will almost certainly make a campaign issue out of it, complaining that Paxton is doing the gun lobby’s bidding and pushing a “guns everywhere” agenda. If Paxton declines to appeal, then Second Amendment organizations are going to be miffed. I doubt that any of them would pull their endorsement, but if gun owners and 2A advocates feel like they’re being thrown under the bus for political purposes, that could negatively impact turnout for Paxton in November. 

If I were in Paxton’s shoes I’d file the appeal, even though the Texas Supreme Court has previously indicated its doubts about Paxton’s argument. Let Talarico defend a gun ban that prevents Texans from being able to defend themselves, their families, and others from harm. Paxton can use that to remind voters of Talarico’s anti-Second Amendment positions like criminalizing the private sale of firearms without a background check, prohibiting young adults from purchasing or possessing common arms, one-size-fits-all storage mandates, and his belief that the right to keep and bear arms shouldn’t be exercised without a government-issued permission slip. 

Paxton has fought the good fight on the State Fair’s gun ban up to this point, and he shouldn’t step away now. If Talarico wants to make Paxton’s support for the Second Amendment a campaign issue, great. I think most voters in the Lone Star State will side with Paxton over Talarico’s second-class treatment of a fundamental right. 

Editor’s Note: President Trump and Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

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