The State Fair of Texas may continue enforcing its rule that keeps firearms off the fairgrounds after the 15th Court of Appeals upheld a lower court decision Thursday.
The state challenged the policy by arguing that it conflicted with a Texas law limiting the ability of local governments to restrict guns in most public locations. The appeals court said that law applies to public entities, not private groups such as the State Fair.
Fair Park is owned by Dallas, but the city leases the property to the State Fair. Dallas has maintained that it does not set fair rules, and that the State Fair creates and carries out its own policies for the event.
The State Fair adopted the firearm restriction in 2024 after a shooting the year before injured three people. Before that change, fairgoers with valid handgun licenses were allowed to carry concealed handguns.
Attorney General Ken Paxton sued in an effort to stop the restriction. The challenge had already failed more than once in court, including in 2024, when the Texas Supreme Court declined an emergency request to block the policy. In June 2025, Judge Emily Tobolwsky ruled for the city and the State Fair, granted summary judgment and dismissed the case.
