Generally, when the attorney general of a state tells you that you shouldn’t do something, that what you’re trying to do is illegal, people listen. After all, he or she is one of the state’s legal experts and has the resources to back up their claims in a court of law.
That’s especially true when the law is pretty clear and you’re going against it, anyway.
For the State Fair of Texas, though, it seems they don’t care about the repercussions. They’re going forward with their gun ban despite the threat of a lawsuit.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed suit against the City of Dallas, the city manager and the State Fair of Texas over the fair’s new gun policy.
The policy “prohibits fairgoers from carrying all firearms, knives with blades over 5.5 inches long, clubs, explosive devices, ammunition, chemical dispensing devices, replicas or hoaxes, or weapons of any kind,” according to the fair’s website. The policy does not include elected, appointed, or employed peace officers.
According to the lawsuit, the city and the Fair are unlawfully banning firearms for most visitors from a government-owned public property, which violates state law.
A State Fair of Texas spokesperson released a statement Saturday affirming their commitment to prioritizing the fairgoers’ safety and asserting their right to enforce and uphold their decision to ban guns.
“The State Fair of Texas will continue to prioritize providing a safe and secure environment for our millions of fairgoers, as well as our staff, vendors, and volunteers,” said a spokesperson. “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. Due to pending litigation, we will make no further comments at this time.”
The fair’s updated policy comes after 23-year-old Cameron Turner opened fire and injured three people at the fair last year.
The problem is that the fair is held at a piece of property owned by the city of Dallas. State law says guns can’t be prohibited on public property, which is what the park hosting the fair is.
So they’re going to go to court over this when it’s clear as day that they’re going to lose.
What’s more, let’s keep in mind that Turner; was breaking the rules already in place last year when he brought a gun onto the property. The state fair only allowed licensed carriers to bring guns in. Turner was not. What’s more, he got the gun in despite the fair’s weapons detection technology. Everything they had failed, so their answer is to punish the very people who did nothing wrong.
And to violate state law. Let’s not forget about that.
So what’s the endgame here? My guess is that the fair figures it can hold the line for a little while as the case works its way through the court system, hopefully avoiding injunctions along the way. If so, it’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard and if the fair’s attorneys told them they can win this, then they need to fire them and hire literally anyone else.
