A Dallas County judge granted summary judgment to the City of Dallas allowing the ban of handguns at the State Fair of Texas.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed the lawsuit almost a year ago in response to the state fair’s decision to ban attendees from carrying handguns. He gave the state fair a 15-day notice that he intended to file suit if it did not rescind the gun ban.
Dallas County District Judge Emily Tobolowsky dismissed the plaintiffs’ claims against the city, the city manager and the state fair with prejudice last week.
Counsel for the city, Jeff Tillotson of Tillotson Johnson & Patton, issued a statement to The Texas Lawbook in the wake of the court’s ruling.
“We are pleased with the Court’s ruling, which the City believes accurately reflects Texas law,” Tillotson told The Texas Lawbook.
The State Fair of Texas is scheduled to begin Sept. 26. The list of prohibited items is unavailable on the fair’s website, but it enacted its policy banning guns on its premises after a shooting at the fair in 2023.
The state filed an accelerated appeal with the Fifteenth Court of Appeals to stop the policy from taking effect last year but lost.
Paxton viewed the policy as an infringement of gun rights, while the state fair argued Paxton was infringing on property rights.
“Municipalities cannot nullify state law nor can they avoid accountability by contracting official functions to nominally third parties,” Paxton said in a press release when announcing the lawsuit. “Neither the City of Dallas nor the State Fair of Texas can infringe on Texans’ right to self-defense.”
Connor Ellington with the Law Offices of Tony McDonald represented the three plaintiffs in the case. He did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The case is State of Texas, Maxx Juusola, Tracy Martin, and Alan Crider v. City of Dallas, Kimberly Bizor Tolbert, in her official capacity as the City Manager for the City of Dallas, and the State Fair of Texas, DC-24-14434.