Washington State lawmakers are pushing to allow concealed carry in CenturyLink Field and Safeco Field.
The Seahawks play at CenturyLink and the Mariners play at Safeco.
According to The Washington Post, state representatives Matt Shea (R-P2, 4th), David Taylor (R-15th), and Bob McCaslin (R-P1, 4th) introduced legislation to bar the venues from banning concealed carry. CenturyLink and Safeco currently have no requirement to recognize concealed carry because they are privately operated. The bill pushed by Shea, Taylor, and McCaslin “would extend to private operators of public spaces,” thereby mandating that the stadiums honor Second Amendment rights.
The push comes in response to rising violence at pro-sports venues, and particularly at NFL games. “Per-game” arrests at NFL games have increased since 2011 and Amy Trask, “a former executive with the Raiders who has served on the NFL’s security committee,” says the violence does not go unnoticed. She said, “If you are concerned about bringing your family to a game, then that is an issue. It’s not just an issue for one team; it’s an issue for all 32 teams. The teams know this. The league knows this.”
Yet the NFL has a ban against licensed, law-abiding citizens carrying guns into stadiums for self-defense. Shea, Taylor, and McCaslin want to change the law so such a ban cannot be enforceable. The NFL also has a ban on off-duty police officers carrying guns into stadiums, but Texas law–which requires officers to be armed at all times–means the ban is of no effect in the Lone Star State.
AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and host of “Bullets with AWR Hawkins,” a Breitbart News podcast. He is also the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.
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