GREGG COUNTY, Texas — Two of East Texas' biggest fairs are less than a month away from opening up their gates. Security preparations are being made as Texas legislators are calling out the State Fair of Texas in Dallas for its ban on all guns this year.
Last week, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened legal action if the State Fair of Texas does not lift the ban. The policy is in place after Dallas police said three people were injured when someone fired a gun in the fairgrounds last year.
Billy Clay, general manager for the Gregg County Fair, has been in his role for 45 years, and in that time, safety and security have been top of mind.
"I have a sign on the ticket booth. No guns," Clay said.
The sign Clay is talking about isn’t the kind of sign someone would see in a hospital or on private business, rather it’s more of a cautious sign.
"I’ll get a call, 'can I carry my gun out there?' Well, yes but think of it this way. If you carry a gun out there and it falls out of your belt or your pocket and it hits the ground and it hits somebody, can you live with that? Because I can’t," Clay said. '"Well, they said, 'I didn’t think about it that way.'"
Dozens of officers will be in and around the fairgrounds during the nine-day fair keeping an eye out.
"(They will) see how things go and if there’s a slight bit of a problem they’ll nip it in the butt," Clay said.
According to the East Texas State Fair’s website, the fair in Tyler will only allow concealed carry with a permit inside their grounds.
The fair's policy states that open carry or open display of firearms will not be allowed. Signs citing that part of the Texas penal code will be posted all entrances.
Meanwhile, a complete ban on all guns at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas has prompted state lawmakers to warn the fair about their new policy.
"Bottom line is you know gun-free zones make law abiding citizens a target," said state Rep. Cole Hefner, who represents parts of Northeast Texas in the Texas House of Representatives.
He is one of 70 state legislators who sent fair officials a letter asking them to rescind their gun ban policy.
"This is Texas; this is not what we’re about. We’re supposed to be able to exercise our Second Amendment right," Hefner said.
Along with all the fun East Texans will have in the coming weeks, Clay asked that everyone be safe.
"Use common sense, and we can get through this all the way around. I don’t think anybody carrying wants to hurt anyone intentionally, but it can happen. If you get on a mechanical ride, anything is subject to happen," Clay said.