DALLAS (AP) â The State Fair of Texas is laying down a new rule before millions of visitors flock through the gates for corn dogs, deep-fried delights and a friendly wave from a five-story cowboy named Big Tex: No guns allowed.
But that decision by fair organizers â which comes after a shooting last year on the 277-acre fairgrounds in the heart of Dallas â has drawn outrage from Republican lawmakers, who in recent years have proudly expanded gun rights in Texas. On Wednesday, the stateâs attorney general threatened a lawsuit unless the fair reversed course.
âDallas has fifteen days to fix the issue,â said Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, âotherwise I will see them in court.â
Tensions over where and how gun owners can carry firearms in public are frequent in Texas, but the standoff with one of the stateâs most beloved institutions has moved the fight onto unusual turf. The fair has not backed down since cowboy hat-wearing organizers announced the new policy at a news conference last week.
The fair, which reopens in September and lasts for nearly a month, dates back to 1886. In addition to a maze of midway games, car shows and the Texas Star Ferris wheel â one of the tallest in the U.S. â the fairgrounds are also home to the annual college football rivalry between the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma. And after Big Tex, the towering cowboy that greets fairgoers, went up in flames in 2012 due to an electrical short, the fair mascot was met with great fanfare upon its return.
pulls another Uvalde
You mean where the police donât act and instead stand around? Man it almost seems like law enforcement not acting should be the focus not the fact people are unarmed.
Every event like this will have security with the local PD on alert if they call. Thatâs how itâs supposed to work - âgood guy with gunâ often gets shot by police response if you hadnât been keeping track.
