Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has withdrawn a 2016 legal opinion that said local governments are not liable when private businesses ban guns on government-owned property — an opinion that contradicted his current stance on the State Fair's ban on firearms.
The opinion was withdrawn Tuesday, as first reported by The Texan, because Paxton's office is preparing a response to two Republican state lawmakers' request for an opinion on whether the fair can legally ban guns from Fair Park while leasing the city-owned property. Paxton also sued the city and fair organizers over the ban last month.
The August 2016 opinion was issued to clarify Texas law, which forbids a government entity itself from banning the licensed carry of handguns on government-owned or leased property.
Paxton’s office did not respond to a request for further comment. Attorneys for Dallas and the State Fair didn’t respond to requests for comment on the change.
The August opinion was also cited in a November 2016 complaint response letter regarding the Fort Worth Zoo’s ban on firearms. In the letter, Paxton’s office once again found a political subdivision like the city of Fort Worth would not be held responsible for the Fort Worth Zoo Association, a private nonprofit, banning guns from the city-owned property it leases.
A spokesperson for the Fort Worth Zoo said officials are in discussion with their legal counsel and will make any updates to ensure the zoo is in compliance with the law.
The attorney general’s legal opinions are persuasive but not legally binding. In his notice to Interim Dallas City Manager Kim Tolbert threatening legal action, Paxton wrote State Fair organizers’ potential reliance on his office’s August 2016 opinion in crafting the new firearms policy “was misplaced in regard to the 277-acre Fair Park.”
Dallas attorney David Coale said he doubts Paxton’s changing course will have much effect on the way the court will rule in the lawsuit against the fair and Dallas.
“He has to do something with it,” Coale said. “And given that it’s out there and it’s going to get quoted no matter what, I think he made a decision that the best damage control was to just take it back and potentially substitute a new opinion.”
Paxton’s request for a temporary injunction on the gun ban is set for a hearing Sept. 19. The state has added two licensed gun owners and one unlicensed gun owner as plaintiffs in the lawsuit, according to court documents.
The additional plaintiffs might give Texas more standing to accuse the State Fair and Dallas of violating gun owners’ constitutional rights, Coale said. But the judge in this case may not want to start issuing guidance on gun laws on an individual basis and instead leave it up to lawmakers.
“It’s as big as Texas, right? It’s two Texas institutions here — the attorney general’s office and Big Tex — and it’s a right that people feel very strongly about,” Coale said. “So, what happens here is going to have a lot of influence in the next legislative session on what, if anything, the Legislature wants to do about these important laws.”
The State Fair opens Sept. 27.
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