Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sued a southeast Texas county that’s trying to ban guns from its courthouse,reports The Los Angeles Times.
The move comes as gun-rights advocates have been pushing for greater access to public buildings in the state, and nationwide. Last year Texas passed a law forbidding local officials from posting signs restricting the concealed carrying of handguns by lawful permit holders.
The case in Waller County will be one of the first tests of the new legislation. The attorney general said in a statement, “A local government cannot be allowed to flout Texas’s licensed carry laws . . . simply because it disagrees with the law or doesn’t feel like honoring it.” Waller County Dist. Atty. Elton Mathis said Waller County is anxious to have the issue resolved by the courts “so that all Texans can be safe and sure about the law.”
