Harris County asked a federal appeals court to keep Texas laws that ban firearms at bars, racetracks and high school sporting events.
Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin filed an amicus brief Friday, Aug. 21, in Ziegenfuss v. Martin, a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. The brief was filed on behalf of Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff's Office, District Attorney Sean Teare and Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen, according to My Neighborhood News.
Harris County Commissioners Court authorized the filing in a unanimous vote.
The case challenges three provisions of Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 that restrict firearms on racetrack premises, at businesses deriving at least 51% of income from on-premises alcohol sales, and at high school, collegiate or professional sporting events. The racetrack restriction dates to 1989; the bar and sporting-event provisions were added in 1995. The Texas legislature left all three intact in 2021 when it expanded permitless carry under House Bill 1927.
"Paxton may not want to defend the laws of our State, but here in Harris County we will stand up for the rule of law," Kamin said Tuesday, Aug. 25.
That comment referred to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who declined to defend the challenged laws on their merits in the litigation.
Sheriff's data backs the brief
The amicus brief cites five years of Harris County Sheriff's Office data: 131 firearm-related reports at bars and nightclubs, seven at gambling facilities and four at arenas, stadiums and fairgrounds. During the same period, the Sheriff's Office reported roughly 1,800 assaults and related crimes at those location types.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office charged nearly 400 people over five years with unlawfully carrying a weapon at prohibited places, including schools. That figure includes weapons beyond firearms because Texas law's definition covers knives, clubs and other prohibited items.
The brief also cites Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy research finding that 29% of firearm crimes in Harris County from 2018 through 2021 occurred within 300 feet of an alcohol-serving business.
District Attorney Teare called guns and alcohol "a deadly combination" and said the county has a responsibility to protect public spaces where families gather.
How the case reached the Fifth Circuit
Texas residents Charles Ziegenfuss, David Montgomery and Brian Robinson, along with the Firearms Policy Coalition, filed the lawsuit arguing the restrictions violate the Second Amendment. The coalition contends the laws prevent law-abiding people from carrying firearms for self-defense, even when the person carrying does not personally consume alcohol.
U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman ruled March 24 that the three provisions are constitutional, granting summary judgment to maintain the laws. The plaintiffs appealed.
After Paxton declined to defend the statutes, Pittman appointed former Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa and Southern Methodist University law professor Eric Ruben as amici to argue in support of the laws.
Other groups weigh in
Harris County is not alone. The Houston Astros, Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash, FC Dallas, Austin FC, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Restaurant Association and Everytown for Gun Safety have also filed briefs supporting the restrictions, according to My Neighborhood News.
What it means for residents
The challenged laws remain in effect while the appeal proceeds. Carrying a firearm at a high school sporting event is still a Class A misdemeanor under Texas Penal Code Section 46.03. No oral argument date has been announced.
The Harris County Sheriff's Office serves as primary law enforcement for about two million people in unincorporated Harris County, including Spring. The data cited in the brief covers that entire service area.
