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Ken Paxton supported nonprofit gun bans in 2016
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is involved in a legal battle with the city of Dallas over a new policy banning guns at the State Fair of Texas. But in an opinion he issued in 2016, Paxton supported the idea of a nonprofit prohibiting concealed weapons on city-owned property. Paxton withdrew that 2016 opinion regarding the Fort Worth Zoo earlier this month.
DALLAS - The Texas Supreme Court had denied Attorney General Ken Paxton’s petition to block the State Fair of Texas’ gun ban.
After Paxton’s office filed for an emergency hearing on Wednesday, the court came back with a decision Thursday night, denying his motion.
Justice Jimmy Blacklock issued a majority opinion saying that Paxton’s filing didn’t even include a legal argument to justify blocking the ban.
"The State’s presentation to this Court takes no position on whether the State Fair of Texas, a private entity, has the legal authority to exclude patrons carrying handguns from the Fair," the justice wrote. "This Court cannot possibly order the State Fair to allow handguns to be carried at this year’s Fair when the party seeking that relief does not even argue that Texas law obligates the Fair to do so."
The court did not say whether the fair has the legal ability to ban people from carrying handguns.
However, Justice Blacklock reminded Paxton’s team about the opinion the AG posted in 2016.
Paxton took a very different position with a non-binding opinion giving nonprofits the green light to do what the fair did. In fact, that same year, Paxton's office told the Fort Worth mayor that the Fort Worth Zoo was within its rights to ban concealed carry.
Attempt to block State Fair of Texas gun ban denied by judge
A Dallas judge denied a request by Attorney General Ken Paxton to block the policy.
Paxton withdrew that opinion on Sept. 10 after Paxton sued Dallas.
"Withdrawing the Opinion is not the same thing as repudiating its analysis or explaining why it was wrong, which the State has not attempted to do in this Court. If the AG Opinion was correct about the common-law authority of private parties who lease public property, then the privately operated State Fair may well have the authority to exclude handguns from the Fair," Blacklock wrote. "If the AG Opinion was wrong, then surely the party seeking a result at odds with its own publicly stated opinion must at least explain why its opinion was wrong."
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This is the third time Paxton has lost a challenge to the state fair's policy.
State fair officials released a statement applauding the recent ruling "allowing the State Fair to open the 2024 Fair tomorrow with its security policy as planned."
They went on to say, "We look forward to Opening Day and providing a safe environment for our millions of fairgoers, as well as our staff, vendors, and volunteers."
Paxton released a statement on the decision Friday.
"Texas clearly prohibits this type of gun ban, I will be working with the Legislature this session to protect law-abiding citizens’ Second Amendment rights on public property," he wrote.
The state fair is set to open Friday.