A Texas appeals court denied Attorney General Ken Paxton's emergency request Tuesday to block the State Fair's gun ban from taking effect.
A Dallas County judge ruled during an injunction hearing last week that the State Fair's new firearm policy may stay in place. Paxton's office almost immediately appealed the decision to the 15th Court of Appeals, which handles all cases involving the state or state agencies.
The state requested the court enforce an emergency order by Tuesday to prevent the State Fair from banning guns before the fair opens Friday. The court denied that request without comment.
"The State Fair of Texas applauds today’s unanimous ruling by the Fifteenth Court of Appeals," a fair spokesperson wrote in a statement. "The State Fair believes our new weapons policy is within the law and we look forward to welcoming fairgoers on Opening Day of the 2024 State Fair."
Paxton alleged the State Fair's decision to ban guns from Fair Park is actually an action by the city, which would be illegal. State law forbids government entities from banning guns on government-owned or leased property, excluding protected gun-free zones such as schools or courthouses.
Fair organizers say it is a private nonprofit, not a government agency, so the new policy is lawful. The city of Dallas says it had no role in crafting or enforcing the State Fair's policy.
It's unclear if the state plans to appeal again, but Paxton signaled in his initial filing he may take the case up to the Supreme Court of Texas.
The city of Dallas declined to comment due to pending litigation.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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