State Fair of Texas organizers have 15 days to reverse a gun ban at the popular event, or they can expect the state to sue.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton claimed the gun ban is illegal Wednesday after it was announced last week for the fair that is scheduled to get underway September 27.
Licensed gun owners will not be able to bring their guns into the event, which is run by a non-profit and takes place at the City of Dallas owned Fair Park.
The decision was made by the non-profit that runs the fair after a shooting in the food court in October, where three people were wounded and hundreds of attendees were filmed running for their lives.
‘Texas law clearly states that license to carry holders may not be prevented from carrying a firearm on property owned or leased by the government unless otherwise prevented by state statute,’ Paxton tweeted Wednesday.
‘Dallas has fifteen days to fix the issue, otherwise I will see them in court.’
When the no-fire arms policy was announced last week by organizers, state GOP lawmakers who don’t even live in Dallas began lobbying for the fair to reverse its decision.
‘Gun-free zones don’t make us safer—they make us targets,’ tweeted Lubbock Republican Dustin Burrows.
‘Texans have the right to defend themselves.’
The event, which drew 2.3 million people last year, will require all attendees to pass through metal detectors, and only law enforcement will be allowed to carry.
By Wednesday afternoon, fair organizers had responded to Paxton– saying the fair, not the city, had made the legal decision to prohibit guns.
Dallas police block an entrance to the State Fair of Texas after a shooting
‘It appears from the letter that the Attorney General’s Office is seeking clarification regarding the City’s relationship with the State Fair of Texas – a private, not-for-profit organization – and the State Fair’s use of Fair Park under a long-term lease agreement between the two parties,’ event organizers said in a statement to a local station.
‘We have not spoken with the City yet but stand ready to cooperate with them, as needed.’
Fair organizers appeared unwilling to back off, pointing out that other events like the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, San Antonio Livestock Show and Rodeo and Rodeo Austin have similar rules.
Dallas Fire-Rescue EMS loads one of the wounded onto a cart after a shooting at the State Fair of Texas on Saturday night. Police responded to a report of a shooting in the fair’s food court at about 7.45pm