Fulton Co. Fair

[yiteurp]

So the fair is starting soon. I am a friend on they're facebook page they asked if everyone was ready for th fair and had any questions .. Soooooo I asked If firearms were allowed. and of course they responded.. NEVER , NOPE, NOWAY, NOHOW.. it will be posted.. Now I cant find any info on who owns the property.. or any info what so ever.. does anyone know or have info

[Javelin Man]

Whoops, broke rule #1...

[rexles]

You can carry on the fair grounds, just not in the buildings

[cashman966]

From there most recent state audit

A. Description of the Entity
The constitution and laws of the State of Ohio establish the rights and privileges of the Fulton County Agricultural Society, Fulton County, Ohio (the Society), as a body corporate and politic.

Fairgrounds are owned by an entity called FULTON COUNTY FAIR GROUND but the county commissioners are listed as the tax address name, and the land use is classified as 620 - EXEMPT PROP OWN BY COUNTIES

So any blanket posting of the grounds would seem to fly in the face of ORC 9.68.

[yiteurp]

Whoops, broke rule #1...

YES I Know .. I wanted to see what they said.. I suppose the FB page is run by some high
school kid

[MyWifeSaidYes]

I just sent this email to the Fulton County Fair Board:

Agricultural Societies are created under Ohio Revised Code 1711. This statute allows for a COUNTY or an INDEPENDANT ag society to be established.

When choosing to form as an INDEPENDANT organization, this does NOT make that organization a privte entity. An ag society that manages a fairground or creates a fair board to do so, is a political subdivision of the state of Ohio. In other words, ALL ag societies created under ORC 1711 are public entities. See Greene Cty. Agricultural Soc. v. Liming (2000), 89 Ohio St.3d 551.(http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/rod/docs/ ... io-486.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

As all public entities are subject to the General Laws of the state of Ohio, ag societies must comply with ORC 9.68 regarding rules and regulations concerning firearms.

Under Ohio law, an ag society or fair board may post a "No Guns" sign on any building that is not primarily a rest area, shelter, restroom or parking facility. An ag society may NOT post any open area.

ALL ag societies formed under ORC 1711 are bodies corporate and politic, and may sue and be sued. ORC 9.68 allows for a court to award costs and attorney fees should your organization be sued.

Lawsuits under ORC 9.68 are easily winnable, but not profitable.

Because the ag society is earning money (such as admission fees) while violating a state law, a plaintiff may have a valid reason to ask for punative damages to be awarded. A reasonable amount to ask for might be an amount equal to the gate admission fees for the last seven years (since ORC 9.68 has been in effect).

I would ask the fair board and the ag society to IMMEDIATELY remove any and all signage that restricts the legal open carry or licensed concealed carry of firearms within the fairgrounds.

Please contact me when you have removed the signs, or with a reason for why you have not.

Thanks!

I'll let you know if I hear from them.

[Cruiser]

That letter sounds very generic, one that any of our members could copy and use in their County as necessary.
Good letter.

[Javelin Man]

Excellent letter! Of course, the board will meet about once a month, form a committee, run rulings past their attorney, regroup, change the directors on the board at the next election during the fair, change committee members, restart the procedures and hope you forgot about everything before they send a response in 2017.

[BriKuz]

Has someone got this, yet? Or shall I start my "annoy with facts until they figure it out" contretemps?

[MyWifeSaidYes]

I just sent the letter after business hours on Tuesday. The Ag Societies/Fair Boards seem so informally run that I would give them a week to respond.

Jav. Man, if it came to a lawsuit, one might be able to get an injunction to keep the signs down. Without that, you're right. Until 9.68 gets teeth, this will repeat indefinitely.

[BriKuz]

Fulton County Prosecutor's Office says they cannot talk about it, I need to retain my own council... Refused to say anything else.