The State Fair of Texas will be allowed to ban firearms when it opens on Friday, the Texas Supreme Court ruled late Thursday.
The fair announced the gun ban earlier this year in response to a shooting last year that injured three people. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has tried to get the ban overturned, but courts have repeatedly denied his requests.
Paxton took his case to the Texas Supreme Court this week. They issued a ruling Thursday evening. The court denied his request to order the fair to drop the ban, so the State Fair of Texas will be allowed to enforce the policy.
Paxton has argued that the State Fair of Texas is held on land owned by the city of Dallas, so it should not be allowed to ban guns on public property. The fair's argument has been that as a nonprofit entity, it has the right to set its own policies regarding firearms -- and that similar events around the state already have gun bans in place.
In their ruling on Thursday, three justices of the Texas Supreme Court acknowledged the issue does deserve a trial. They noted that "the ostensible purpose of this litigation is to determine whether Texas law entitles law-abiding Texans to carry handguns at the State Fair" and agree that "is a very important question". However, the justices also found that the arguments from the Texas Attorney General's Office were not compelling enough to issue a ruling before the case goes to trial.
The State Fair of Texas opens Friday and runs through Oct. 20. The Fair adopted several new security measures this year in response to last year's shooting. Guests will be required to go through a weapons-detection system and the fair will limit the size of bags that guests can bring.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Tell your Smart Speaker to "PLAY 1080 KRLD"
Sign Up to receive our KRLD Insider Newsletter for more news
Follow us on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube