The complaint alleged the city was still displaying a sign advising that concealed carry was prohibited at City Hall.
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The lawsuit was filed in state district court in Travis County, which includes Austin.
The attorney general’s office has filed a lawsuit against the City of Austin over the city’s policy regarding open carry in city hall. But this is the first time Paxton has chosen to sue over the issue, citing the city’s repeated refusals to take down their signs.
Paxton’s office is seeking civil penalties of $1,500 per day the city is in violation, beginning on July 25.
On June 16, the city responded to a letter Paxton had sent to officials two months earlier saying that it believed Austin’s stance on guns at City Hall stood in concert with the bylaws laid out in Texas Penal Code, Sec 46.03 but, as Paxton writes, “provided no authority for its assertion that Austin City Hall is a government court”. In April, though, another person filed a complaint against the city because “no guns” signs had been posted, / and people were being given oral warnings against the carrying of handguns on the premises. That hasn’t happened, so now Paxton’s filed this suit.
We reached out to the city of Austin’s attorney for comment and will update if we receive a response.
He added: “This City Council … is totally out of control”. Numerous letters simply notified that cities and counties that they were no longer in violation of state law after ending or loosening gun restrictions at their facilities.
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The attorney general’s office said in the same letter that it could not determine “which government court or office utilized by a government court, if any, is located within the city hall building”. It is a criminal offense under Texas law to possess or carry a handgun on the premises of a government court or offices used by the court. Since some court proceedings are conducted in City Hall, Adler has said in the past that the entire building should be gun free.
