Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was dealt a new blow on Friday after the state Supreme Court upheld a gun ban on the State Fair of Texas despites his efforts to overturn it.
The highest court in the state rejected on Thursday night an emergency filing by Paxton, as the event begins on Friday. "It should go without saying —though perhaps it cannot be said often enough— that a judge's role in this case is not to decide whether the State Fair made a wise decision. Our job, instead, is to decide whether Texas law allowed the State Fair to make the decision for itself," reads a passage of the court's ruling.
"The State declines to take a position on that essential question but nevertheless asks this Court for an injunction overriding the State Fair's decision. It should also go without saying that our answer, for now, must be no," it added.
An appeals court had also rejected Paxton's efforts on Wednesday, upholding a ruling by a Dallas County District Court, which agreed with State Fair officials who claimed they could enforce the decision as a private nonprofit.
Paxton,However,vowed to exhaust all possibilities. He claimed that the ban violates state laws and anticipated he will request the state Supreme Court to overturn the ban. "Neither the City of Dallas nor the State Fair of Texas can infringe on Texans' right to self-defense," said Paxton in late August when suing the fair over the decision.
The authorities' decision to ban weapons in the fair's premises comes after last year's shooting on the fairgrounds, where three people were injured.
The suspect, 22-year-old Cameron Turner, was indicted with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He told police that "a group of big males" approached him and he "went into defensive mode" to protect his family when he started shooting, per WFAA. Turner is set to go on trail in late October.
The fair has rejected all criticism since announcing the new policy earlier in August. Fair spokesperson Karissa Condoianis acknowledged the move caused controversy, but said "this is the right decision moving forward to ensure a safe environment and family-friendly atmosphere."
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