A unanimous Texas appeals court upheld the State Fair of Texas gun ban, ruling that the private nonprofit may prohibit licensed attendees from carrying handguns at Dallas-owned Fair Park because the City did not impose or control the policy.
The 15th Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of the case on Thursday. Justice April Farris wrote the opinion for a panel that included Chief Justice Scott Brister and Justice Scott Field.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued the City of Dallas and the State Fair in 2024, arguing that the private operator could not bar licensed handgun holders from public property, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Three licensed handgun holders later joined the state’s case.
Court draws line between public property and government action
The dispute centered on Section 411.209 of the Texas Government Code. The law bars a state agency or political subdivision from taking action that states or implies a licensed handgun holder cannot enter or remain on property the government owns or leases.
The state argued that the restriction followed the property and that Dallas effectively approved the ban by leasing Fair Park to the State Fair and declining to stop it. The court rejected both theories.
Section 411.209 “does not place a restriction on the government property itself,” Farris wrote. The panel found that Dallas took no prohibited action, while State Fair President Mitchell Glieber testified that nobody from the City participated in developing the policy.
The court also held that the statute “does not apply to private entities such as the State Fair.” Because the state failed to show that Dallas imposed, directed or ratified the ban, governmental immunity barred the claim against the City.
The ruling did not decide whether the policy violates the Texas Constitution’s right to bear arms. The state and the individual plaintiffs raised that claim in the trial court but did not challenge its dismissal on appeal, so the panel treated it as waived.
Lawmakers failed to close the gap
Texas lawmakers attempted to change the statute in 2025. Senate Bill 1065 would have required certain government contracts to prohibit private operators from barring licensed handgun holders on public property. The Senate passed the bill, and a House committee advanced it, but the measure never reached Gov. Greg Abbott, as The Dallas Express previously reported.
Paxton argued during the 2024 emergency fight that “The City of Dallas and the State Fair of Texas cannot nullify state law by banning firearms. And a government entity cannot contract away our rights by offloading this policy to a private entity.”
The State Fair’s current rules prohibit firearms, ammunition and other weapons, including concealed and openly carried firearms, while exempting elected, appointed and employed peace officers. A State Fair spokesperson said the nonprofit welcomed Thursday’s decision and believes the policy protects attendees, the Texas Tribune reported.
The State Fair adopted the blanket ban after a gunman who did not hold a License to Carry opened fire during a dispute at the 2023 fair, injuring three people. The fair used weapons-detection screening that year, but officials said investigators never determined how the firearm entered Fair Park, KERA reported.
Alexo Athletica CEO and Co-Founder Amy Robbins, whose company makes concealed-carry activewear, told The Dallas Express that the policy disarms law-abiding Texans while leaving those willing to break the law undeterred.
“A few years ago, a man brought a firearm into the State Fair and opened fire despite the laws and security measures already in place. Violent criminals do not obey firearm bans. By denying law-abiding citizens their constitutional right to carry, the State Fair has not eliminated the threat. It has only left responsible Texans more vulnerable to it. We have repeatedly seen armed citizens stop or deter violent attackers, and when seconds matter, police may still be minutes away. This policy disarms the people who follow the law, not those who intend to harm others. Texas should set the example for the rest of the country.”
Paxton can ask the Texas Supreme Court to review the merits. Texas appellate rules generally give a party 45 days after the court of appeals issues its judgment, or after the court resolves a timely rehearing request, to file a petition for review. Paxton’s office had not publicly announced its next step as of Saturday.
Provided by Dallas Express
