Last week, Paxton threatened to sue the city of Dallas if the State Fair of Texas, an annual event staged by a nonprofit, doesn’t toss out a new rule banning open- and concealed-carry firearms.
Fair organizers adopted the rule in response to a highly publicized shooting at last year’s event that injured three people.
In his letter — conveniently shared with media and anyone on the AG office’s mailing list — Paxton posited that because the event is staged at Fair Park, which Dallas owns, it’s subject to Texas laws barring entities from blocking licensed firearms owners from bringing guns onto government property.
In his letter, Paxton said he’s prepared to seek civil penalties $1,000 to $1,500 per day and added that city officials have 15 days to reverse course or face a lawsuit.
Paxton fired off his threat after a cadre of state Republican lawmakers petitioned the State Fair to pitch out its common-sense policy. They argued the ban makes folks gathered to eat fried food on a stick “less safe.” Indeed, no-firearms zones are “magnets for crime because they present less of a threat to those who seek to do evil,” the itchy trigger-fingered legislators warned.
It’s questionable whether fair-goers were enjoying a “safe” experience last year when 22-year-old Cameron Turner opened fire in a crowded food court because a “group of big men” approached him and he went into “defensive mode” out of purported fear for his family. One of those shots struck an individual who spoke to Turner, while two others hit bystanders, according to authorities.
Turner was charged with three counts of assault with a deadly weapon and one count of unlawfully carrying a weapon in a prohibited place.
However, as Paxton’s proven repeatedly during his career as Texas’ top legal assclown, he’s never been one to let the facts get in the way of a good lawsuit.
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