Attorney General Ken Paxton this week withdrew a legal opinion issued by his office in 2016 saying nonprofits have the right to ban firearms from property leased from the government.
The move comes after he sued to block the nonprofit’s new ban on firearms at the city-owned fairgrounds on Aug. 29.
After a gunman wounded three people in a shooting at the State Fair last year, organizers announced on Aug. 8 that it would increase security and only allow elected, appointed or employed peace officers to carry firearms into Fair Park.
Paxton’s 2016 opinion withdrawal comes amid an Aug. 14 letter from state Sen. Mayes Middleton (R-Galveston) and Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock) to the attorney general seeking an opinion on the State Fair of Texas’ new policy. They cited Paxton weighing in eight years earlier on a question from Erath County Attorney Lisa Pence on whether a nonprofit can restrict people with firearms from coming onto property owned by a city.
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Read more on the attorney general's previous opinion from our partners at The Dallas Morning News.
