State Fair of Texas: An Update
Since the launch of the misguided gun ban by the State Fair of Texas in August 2024, TSRA Endorsed political figures have stepped up to defend the rights of law-abiding Texans.
TSRA Endorsed Texas Representative Dustin Burrows (District 81), an outspoken critic of the anti-Second Amendment policy, delivered a powerful letter to the State Fair Board. The letter criticized the State Fair. It was circulated to and signed by over 70 fellow legislators. His simultaneous social media post reached over 90 thousand views on X. He and Sen. Mayes Middleton (District 11) also requested an opinion from the Texas Attorney General on the matter.
Rep. Briscoe Cain, also endorsed by TSRA, filed House Bill 1715 on December 30th. This bill requires a contract involving the use of property owned or leased by a governmental entity to include a provision that the contractor may not restrict the carrying of a handgun by an LTC on the property during the term of the contract, unless it is a prohibited location for gun carry under Section 46.03 of the Penal Code. The Texas State Rifle Association team looks forward to supporting efforts during the 2025 Legislative Session to overturn the State Fair of Texas’ gun ban policy and prevent the creation of “gun-free zones” on taxpayer-owned property.
Our friends at the NRA also filed an informative Brief in the lawsuit against the State Fair policy, which was submitted to the Attorney General’s office.
Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton’s work on the case began immediately and his first letter went to the City of Dallas on August 13, 2024. The case then went through several parts of the court system, including the Supreme Court. The Fair was allowed to open with the policy in place, but the legal proceedings remain ongoing. The case is currently in the Dallas County District Court and is set for a non-jury trial in June. However, a hearing scheduled for February 14th, 2025, may settle the case without the need for that trial, as all parties will meet over Motions for Summary Judgment.
Plaintiffs, the State of Texas, Maxx Juusola, Tracy Martin, and Alan Crider, filed theirs on November 20, 2024. Their Motion reiterated the facts of the case to date and addressed the key legal issues.
“This case is fundamentally about whether the public policy of this state, as evidenced in the Legislature’s broad provision of protections to Texans exercising their right to lawfully bear arms, licensed or otherwise, permits a private actor to restrict the carrying of all handguns on private property,” the Motion reads.
“This is a case about property rights, not gun rights,” is the opening sentence of the Introduction for Defendant State Fair of Texas’s Traditional and No-Evidence Motion for Summary Judgment, filed on November 20, 2024. We disagree.
A Motion for Summary Judgment is a motion used to dismiss/settle a case without the need for a trial. The 30-minute hearing on Valentine’s Day could settle this case.
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Story by Marissa Brinkman (sportsman@tsra.com)
January 6, 2025