The Texas Supreme Court has rejected the state's final appeal of the Texas State Fair's verdict that the gun ban is constitutional, according to court documents released Thursday.
The Texas Supreme Court has denied Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's final request for relief, saying the court cannot force the State Fair of Texas, a private organization, to rescind its gun ban policy. . According to The decision was written by Justice Jimmy Blacklock of the Texas Supreme Court. The policy was adopted after a shooting at the fair last year left three people injured. According to To KERA in August.
“Texans have a legal right to carry, and the City of Dallas does not have the authority to transfer their rights to a private entity,” Paxton said. said in a press release on Friday. “This case is far from over. I will continue to fight on the merits to protect Texans' ability to self-defense, which is protected by state law. Texas clearly prohibits this type of gun control. However, I intend to work with this Congress to protect the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens regarding public property.” (Related: University of Texas reportedly fires LGBTQ minors after Republican protests)
Paxton originally sued the City of Dallas and the State Fair in August over their no-gun policies, specifically questioning the legality of such a policy for the City of Dallas, rather than whether the State Fair could adopt the policy. He objected to the execution. According to on court documents. Because Fair Park is government property leased to the State Fair of Texas, Paxton argued that the right to bear arms extends to its grounds, regardless of the State Fair's private status. According to Go to August press release.
Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to fight illegal firearms ban: https://t.co/RpcScgXHFd
— Texas Attorney General (@TXAG) September 27, 2024
“Local governments cannot override state law, nor can they avoid accountability by nominally outsourcing public functions to third parties,” Paxton said in an August press release. “Neither the City of Dallas nor the State Fair of Texas can violate Texans' right to self-defense.”
A scathing five-page opinion written by BlackRock answers the question of whether the State Fair, a private organization, can regulate the use of guns at its events, and even if Dallas is unable to enforce the ban. He accused Paxton of not even trying. That does not mean that handgun owners have the right by law to carry weapons at the state fair. ''However, he left open the possibility that Dallas had undue influence on State Fair policy, but it was not the time for the court to decide that.
“At this point, however, there is every indication that the State Fair's private board of directors has made its own decision to ban guns at this year's fair,” Blacklock said in the decision. “It goes without saying, but it may not be said again and again, that the judge's role in this case is not to determine whether the State Fair made a wise decision.”
In October 2023, 22-year-old Cameron Turner opened fire in a crowded food court, injuring three people but causing no fatalities. According to He appeared on Texas-based broadcast station NBC 5 in January. According to an affidavit obtained by NBC 5, Turner said he acted in self-defense and went into “defense mode” as a group of men approached him and fired three or four shots.
The Texas State Fair did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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