Texas Fair Held Public For Protection Of Religious Messages

Yesterday a federal district court in Texas held that the Texas State Fair is a public, not a private event, so that the First Amendment protects the rights of Christian proselytizer Darrel Rundus. A release by the AFA Center for Law and Policy reports on the case. The city had taken the position that only the sidewalks outside the fairgrounds are public. While Rundus won the right to orally present his message on the fairgrounds, the court upheld the State Fair's rule that required anyone wishing to hand out leaflets on the fairgrounds to pay a fee.