Texas A.G. Paxton Sues Venues for Not Letting Cops Carry Guns

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has his sights on a new target(s): entertainment venues that don’t let off-duty cops carry their weapons.

Surely, you’ve seen uniformed police officers at a movie theatre before. Those cops aren’t assigned there by HQ. They’re being paid by the theater to be there because…now that I think about it, I’m not really sure what a cop would be at a movie theater for.

I’ve never seen them do anything other than stand there and talk to the ticket taker. I’ve never seen a uniformed cop “shush” a loud talker. Let’s go ahead and guess they’re there for “deterrence”.  It’s a way for underpaid police officers to earn some cash on the side and it seems to work well for everybody.

Paxton alleges that several places in Texas are NOT allowing off-duty officers to bring firearms on the premises.

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The venues mentioned are the State Fair of Texas, Factory in Deep Ellum and the freaking Meow Wolf in Grapevine.

Before filing the suit, the attorney general’s office noted that they had received assurances from the venues that they would comply with the 2017 Texas law that says officers are allowed to carry their weapons whether they’re on duty or off duty.

Paxton’s office claims that despite assurances, they’re still getting reports from some officers that they’re being told not to bring their guns in.

Paxton said, “Texas law must be respected…peace officers are often well-positioned to prevent and suppress crime, even when they are out of uniform and off duty.”