Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the city of Austin on Thursday alleging that the ban on handguns at City Hall violates state law. The move comes three weeks after Paxton issued a nonbinding opinion giving the city a July 20 deadline to either change its policy or face possible legal action. The city claims that City Hall meetings of the Downtown Austin Community Court, though infrequent, exempt it from the state’s mandate to allow guns because state law forbids guns in courtrooms. Paxton disagrees that City Hall should be exempt, and according to the Austin American-Statesman, the city is prepared to resolve the matter in court.
City faces lawsuit over City Hall gun ban
