Carry rights for lawful Texas gun owners suffered a surprising defeat Thursday when a three-judge panel unanimously upheld a lower court ruling supporting the Texas State Fair’s controversial firearm prohibition.
The judges from the 15th Circuit Court of Appeals turned aside Attorney General Ken Paxton’s (R) lawsuit filed in August 2024 against the city of Dallas and the annual event’s operators.
A Dallas County District Court last year granted summary judgment for the defense and tossed the case.
2026 State Fair attendees will not be able to legally carry
Just about a month before the fairground gates open and tens of thousands of Texans converge on this public event, gun owners are told once again that their Second Amendment rights stop at the State Fair entrance.
Texas law prohibits local governments from banning lawful firearms in most public spaces, and the AG’s office argued that the fairground prohibition, as it is held on city property, was hardly exempt from the state law. The appeals court disagreed.
The three judges instead determined that the statute “does not apply to private entities such as the State Fair.” Panel members held that the city did not endorse or facilitate the ban, but that it was promulgated by private interests.
Three courts have upheld the State Fair’s firearm ban
The city of Dallas owns Fair Park, which the organizers lease from the local government.
A 2023 shooting by an attendee injured three patrons, and guns were prohibited the following year. Paxton and many other Lone Star State leaders were furious, and the AG’s lawsuit quickly followed.
The Texas Supreme Court was the first to counteract Paxton and other gun rights supporters by allowing the ban to cover the 2024 multi-week event.
The 2026 edition of the State Fair of Texas opens to the public Sept. 25.
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