Government

A federal appeals case could reshape a longstanding Texas law restricting firearms at certain bars, racetracks and sporting events.

Harris County Attorney Abbie Kamin has filed an amicus, or “friend of the court,” brief in Ziegenfuss v. Martin, asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold three provisions of Texas Penal Code Section 46.03. Harris County Commissioners Court previously authorized the filing in a unanimous vote.

The case puts two competing concerns before the court: the constitutional right to carry firearms for self-defense and the state’s authority to restrict firearms in locations lawmakers have treated as sensitive or presenting particular public-safety concerns.

For now, nothing has changed for residents. The challenged Texas laws remain in effect while the appeal proceeds.

What Texas gun laws are being challenged?

The lawsuit was filed by Texas residents Charles Ziegenfuss, David Montgomery and Brian Robinson along with the Firearms Policy Coalition, a gun-rights organization.

Their challenge focuses on three portions of Texas Penal Code Section 46.03 that restrict firearms:

• on the premises of racetracks;
• at businesses that derive at least 51% of their income from alcoholic beverages sold or served for on-premises consumption; and
• on premises where high school, collegiate or professional sporting events or interscholastic events are taking place, subject to exceptions contained in the law.

Those restrictions are part of the current Texas Penal Code.

The Firearms Policy Coalition argues that the restrictions violate the Second Amendment and prevent otherwise law-abiding people from carrying firearms for self-defense in ordinary public places. The group has specifically objected to the alcohol-related restriction because it applies even when an individual carrying a firearm does not personally consume alcohol.

That distinction is important to understanding the dispute: the plaintiffs are challenging specific location-based firearm restrictions, rather than Texas firearm law as a whole.

Federal judge upheld the Texas restrictions

U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman of the Northern District of Texas ruled March 24, 2026, that the three challenged provisions are constitutional, granting summary judgment in favor of maintaining the laws and denying the plaintiffs’ request to strike them down.

The plaintiffs appealed, bringing the case to the Fifth Circuit under case number 26-10302.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton declined to defend the challenged laws on their merits in the litigation. Pittman subsequently appointed former Fifth Circuit Judge Gregg Costa and Southern Methodist University law professor Eric Ruben as amici to present arguments supporting the statutes.

The Harris County Attorney’s Office has been openly critical of Paxton’s decision.

“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.

Her office’s newly filed appellate brief asks the Fifth Circuit to affirm Pittman’s decision.

Harris County points to local law-enforcement experience

The Harris County brief was filed Aug. 21 on behalf of Harris County, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, District Attorney Sean Teare and Precinct 1 Constable Alan Rosen. It argues that existing firearm restrictions help law enforcement manage locations where large crowds, alcohol, gambling or families and children may be present.

The County’s filing also provides local statistics intended to support its position.

According to the brief, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office reviewed reports involving bars, nightclubs, gambling facilities, arenas, stadiums and fairgrounds over the past five years. It reported 131 firearm-related reports at bars and nightclubs, seven at gambling facilities and four at arenas, stadiums and fairgrounds.

During that same period, the Sheriff’s Office reported approximately 1,800 assaults and related crimes at those types of locations, according to the filing.

The brief also says the Harris County District Attorney’s Office has charged nearly 400 people over five years with unlawfully carrying a weapon at prohibited places, including schools. The filing notes that figure is broader than firearms alone because Texas law's definition in those cases can include other prohibited weapons.

Harris County presents the relatively small number of firearm reports at the challenged locations as evidence that the current restrictions are working.

That is the County’s argument, however, and not an independent finding by the Fifth Circuit. The plaintiffs contend the government must justify the restrictions under the Supreme Court’s modern Second Amendment framework rather than assume the laws are constitutional because of their stated safety objectives.

Guns, alcohol and the debate over public safety

A significant portion of Harris County’s argument centers on locations where alcohol is served.

The County's brief cites research from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy finding that, from 2018 through 2021, 29% of firearm crimes in Harris County occurred within 300 feet of an alcohol-serving business. It also cites Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health research reporting that approximately one-third of people who committed firearm homicides nationally had been drinking heavily.

Those statistics do not establish that alcohol causes every shooting near an alcohol-serving business, but Harris County cites them as evidence of a broader relationship between heavy alcohol use and firearm violence.

“Texas families and local businesses have relied on these protections for decades, and unfortunately, the plaintiffs in this case are seeking to needlessly endanger residents. We should be doubling down on gun-violence prevention efforts, not rolling back protections that keep our communities and law enforcement safe,” Kamin said.

District Attorney Sean Teare has also joined Harris County’s brief.

“Gun violence is both a public safety and public health crisis, and it continues to devastate communities across our county. I’ve spent my career prosecuting violent crime and I can tell you unequivocally: guns and alcohol are a deadly combination,” Teare said. “We have a responsibility to do everything we can to prevent that combination from turning a bad decision into a tragedy and to protect public spaces where families gather. I’m incredibly grateful to County Attorney Kamin and every member of Commissioners Court for supporting this brief and standing up for safer communities.”

Gun-rights plaintiffs see the constitutional question differently

The Firearms Policy Coalition takes a sharply different legal view.

The organization argues that the Second Amendment protects the right of law-abiding people to carry firearms in public for self-defense and that Texas cannot classify locations as prohibited simply by labeling them sensitive places.

FPC has said its goal in Ziegenfuss v. Martin is a federal declaration that the challenged laws are unconstitutional and an injunction preventing their enforcement.

The dispute therefore goes beyond whether firearms and alcohol are a wise combination or whether residents feel safer with restrictions in place.

The Fifth Circuit must determine whether these particular Texas restrictions satisfy the constitutional standards governing the Second Amendment, including the historical analysis federal courts now use when evaluating modern firearm regulations.

Texas sports organizations also enter the case

Harris County is not the only outside party asking the appeals court to preserve the restrictions.

According to court filings and the Harris County Attorney’s Office, amicus briefs supporting the lower-court ruling have also come from Texas sports organizations, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, the Texas Restaurant Association and Everytown for Gun Safety. The sports organizations identified by the County Attorney’s Office include the Houston Astros, Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash, FC Dallas and Austin FC. The Fifth Circuit docket also reflects the Aug. 21 filing of briefs from Texas sports teams and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.

Their involvement puts additional focus on one of the most locally recognizable parts of the case: sporting events.

Harris County’s brief points to venues that regularly bring together thousands of spectators, including children and families, and argues that removing the prohibition could create new security challenges for local law enforcement.

What happens next in Ziegenfuss v. Martin?

The Fifth Circuit will consider arguments from the plaintiffs, court-appointed amici and outside organizations before deciding whether to affirm or reverse the lower court.

Until the appellate court rules otherwise, the current Texas restrictions remain enforceable. Residents should continue following existing Texas firearm laws and posted restrictions at bars, racetracks, stadiums and sporting events.

Whatever the Fifth Circuit ultimately decides, the case could have implications well beyond Harris County. It sits at the intersection of Second Amendment rights, Texas gun laws, venue security and the ability of state governments to designate particular locations as off-limits to firearms.

For families headed to a school game, sports fans entering a stadium, business owners serving alcohol and Texans who legally carry firearms, that makes a seemingly technical federal appeal one with potentially practical consequences close to home.

My Neighborhood News will continue following Ziegenfuss v. Martin and its potential impact on Harris County residents as the Fifth Circuit considers the appeal.

By Tiffany Krenek, My Neighborhood News 

Tiffany Krenek has been on the My Neighborhood News team since August 2021. She is passionate about curating and sharing content that enriches the lives of our readers in a personal, meaningful way. A loving mother and wife, Tiffany and her family live in the West Houston/Cypress region.