Attorney General Ken Paxton threatens to sue Dallas over State Fair gun ban

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Texas Attor­ney Gen­er­al Ken Pax­ton threatened to take legal action against the city of Dallas if the State Fair does not rescind its recent policy change to ban firearms at the upcoming event.

“Dallas has fifteen days to fix the issue. Otherwise, I will see them in court,” Paxton said in a statement.

In his letter to the city, Paxton said he could seek civil penalties of between $1,000 and $1,500 per day.

A state fair official told The Texas Tribune they were waiting for guidance from the city.

“We have not spoken with the City yet but stand ready to cooperate with them, as needed,” said spokesperson Karissa Condoianis in an email. Also a Dallas spokesperson said the city “is reviewing the letter from the Texas Attorney General’s Office and will respond accordingly.”

Fair officials and law enforcement announced the policy change last week, roughly a year after a gunman opened fire at the fair, injuring three people. The fair also announced it will have cameras at entrances for the security process and will not provide lockers or bag checks for larger bags.

Dallas owns Fair Park, where the annual event takes place, but State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit organization, takes over operations of the park and various city buildings and walkways within the property during the 24 days of the annual event, per a 25-year agreement between the two.

Paxton wrote that since Fair Park is owned by Dallas, the nonprofit's policy change violates state law, which allows licensed gun owners to carry in places owned or leased by governmental entities, unless otherwise prohibited by state law. Texas law establishes that schools and courtrooms are considered gun-free zones and allows others, like amusement parks or educational institutions, to institute their own bans on firearms.

In his letter to the interim city manager, he acknowledged that some buildings located on the Fair Park premises, like the Cotton Bowl and other buildings that are used for scholastic events are areas where guns are prohibited by state law.

“However, the entirety, or vast majority of the 277-acre Fair Park of Dallas is not a place where weapons are prohibited,” he wrote.

The Attorney General's letter comes after several state lawmakers signed a petition to pressure State Fair officials to rescind the new policy – saying the new policy makes the fair “less safe” because “Gun free zones are magnets for crime because they present less of a threat to those who seek to do evil.”

Also, the NRA and other gun rights advocacy groups released statements encouraging the state fair to change its decision.

A similar spat over gun rights happened a few years ago when Texas zoos wanted to limit firearms on their property.

Fair officials previously said the policy change was a safety measure related to last year’s shooting.

Law enforcement arrested 22-year-old Cameron Turner in connection with the shooting, who they said opened fire at the fair’s food court. He was charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and one count of unlawfully carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.

The fair runs from Sept. 27 until Oct. 20.

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