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Fairgoers join Ken Paxton in suing Texas State Fair for allegedly violating their gun rights

Fairgoers join Ken Paxton in suing Texas State Fair for allegedly violating their gun rights

DALLAS, Texas (TEXAS TRIBUNE) – Three fairgoers joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton suing the State Fair of Texas and the city of Dallas over the fair’s policy banning all firearms on their property.

Monday’s filing is Paxton’s latest maneuver in the ongoing battle over the State Fair and the gun ban. In September, the day before the event started, The Texas Supreme Court denied this Paxton’s motion to repeal the policy – stating that he has no role “to decide whether the State Fair made a wise decision” – after a Dallas district court judge agreed ban on possessing weapons.

Paxton provided an update naming the newest plaintiffs in his ongoing U.S. District Court case in Dallas, which is scheduled for next year.

In it, Paxton accuses state and city officials of violating state law, which prohibits most government agencies from banning guns on their properties. Paxton also claims that officials violated fairgoers Maxx Juusola, Tracy Martin and Alan Crider’s constitutional right to bear arms. They are seeking up to $1 million in civil damages and allowing people to carry guns on the fairgrounds.

After the Supreme Court’s ruling, Paxton said in a news release that he would continue to press the issue on the “advantages of maintaining Texans’ ability to defend themselves.”

Dallas owns Fair Park, which hosts the 24-day event each year, but the nonprofit State Fair of Texas manages the park and various municipal buildings and walkways on the property on a monthly basis. 25-year contract between both entities. A week before the trial in Dallas District Court, Paxton withdrew an eight-year-old legal opinion this allowed private nonprofit organizations to ban guns on land leased from the city.

Paxton continues to argue that because Dallas owns Fair Park, the nonprofit’s policy change violates state law, which allows licensed gun owners to carry guns in places owned or leased by government entities unless state law states otherwise , according to Paxton’s lawsuit. Texas law states that schools and courtrooms are considered gun-free zones and allows others, such as amusement parks or educational institutions, to establish their own firearms bans.

In his letter to the interim city manager over the summer, Paxton acknowledged that some buildings in Fair Park, such as the Cotton Bowl and other buildings used for school events, are areas where state law prohibits guns.

“However, all or the vast majority of Dallas’ 277-acre Fair Park is not a place where guns are prohibited,” Paxton wrote.

The city of Dallas disagreed with Paxton’s allegations, explaining that city officials were not involved in the State Fair’s decision to enforce the gun ban.

“The State Fair of Texas is a private event operated and controlled by a private, nonprofit organization, not the city,” a Dallas spokesman said in a statement.

Representatives of the honest organization maintain that as a private, non-profit organization they could enforce the gun ban.