Texas lawmakers are pushing to repeal a gun ban that prohibits Americans from carrying firearms at the Texas State Fair in Dallas.
According to Houston Public Media, Texas state Rep. Briscoe Cain, a Republican, has proposed legislation that would make it illegal for licensed gun owners to be prohibited from carrying firearms on government-owned property.
According to the outlet, the bill would prevent private contractors like the State Fair of Texas from prohibiting firearms at locations such as Dallas’ Fair Park.
The bill, HB 1715, states that government entities, contractors, and courts who use government property “may not in any way prohibit a license holder who is carrying a handgun under the authority of Subchapter H, Chapter 411,
Government Code, from entering or remaining on the property or a portion of the property, including through the provision of notice by a communication described by Section 30.06 or 30.07, Penal Code, unless license holders ar
Cain’s bill proposal comes after Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas in August for “unlawfully prohibiting firearms from government-owned public property in violation of Texas law.”
“Municipalities cannot nullify state law nor can they avoid accountability by contracting official functions to nominally third parties,” Paxton told reporters at the time. “Neither the City of Dallas nor the State Fair of Texas can infringe on Texans’ right to self-defense.”
According to Houston Public Media, the Texas State Fair banned firearms in Fair Park after a shooting incident in 2023 that injured three people. The ban was quickly met with opposition from Republican lawmakers, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and other Second Amendment supporters.
“Gun-free zones are not crime-free, so creating new ones doesn’t make Texans any safer,” Tara Mica, an NRA lobbyist, told KERA News. “By prohibiting the lawful carrying of firearms at Fair Park.
a publicly owned property, the Texas State Fair Board may have highlighted a gap in current law that needs to be addressed. And if state legislators agree, we will collaborate with them to do so next session.”
According to Houston Public Media, Texas law currently prevents state agencies from prohibiting firearms on government-owned property, with the exception of gun-free zones such as courthouses and schools.
However, the outlet noted that Texas State Fair officials previously claimed they had legal authority to prohibit firearms from Fair Park because the Texas State Fair is a non-profit organization.
