Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is standing with Dallas business leaders against a pornography convention that is slated to be hosted in the city’s convention center. Paxton filed a brief today in federal court in support of stopping the sexually-oriented show.
“It is vital that governmental entities have the ability to exclude sexually-oriented businesses from property that they own,” General Paxton said. “The City of Dallas, through its democratically-elected officials, has rightfully decided that its convention center should not be home to an event where obscenity and criminal activity occurs. A federal court should not overturn that decision by elected officials.”
The amici curiae (friend of the court) brief was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The brief attached below, urges that because the Convention Center is a commercial enterprise that is intended to promote economic development in Dallas, the Convention Center is a nonpublic forum that the City is free to reasonably manage under applicable law. The OAG also urges that it hopes by filing the brief that it will “aid the Court in understanding how free speech doctrine accommodates the City’s significant interests as proprietor of the Convention Center.”
“I’m proud to be joined by the Dallas Citizens Council on this brief,” General Paxton said in a statement obtained by Breitbart Texas. “Promoting an environment where economic development can flourish in Texas is an important goal for my administration. It is heartening to see a group of local civic leaders taking a stand and doing their part to ensure that their community remains a place where business can flourish.”
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2
Attorney General Paxton Brief in Support of City of Dallas Against Pornography Convention