Officers of the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) are throwing a fit because the National Football League (NFL) prohibits anybody who isn’t an on-duty office from carrying a firearm into its stadiums. This policy means off-duty police officers must suffer the same treatment as us lowly serfs and view football games unarmed. Needless to say, they’re unhappy that they’re not being treated as privileged individuals:
The letter went out Sept. 11, 2013, telling all team owners and presidents that firearms are strictly prohibited within NFL facilities.
The crackdown on firearms concerns Minneapolis Police Federation President John Delmonico. He believes a call for off-duty officers to give up their weapons at the gate violates an officer’s rights, as determined by state law.
The Minneapolis Police Federation sites state law, Chapter 624, which gives police officers full police powers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. In other words, they should be allowed to carry their weapons in any public place in the city.
“State law governs the facts that we can carry our guns off-duty in any public facility and any facility in the city of Minneapolis, which encompasses the dome,” Minneapolis Police Federation’s John Delmonico said.
I might be motivated to give a couple of fucks if the officers were arguing in favor of carry permit holders as well. But they’re not. The officers are just pissed off because they believe their badge should bestow them with special privileges. What’s the point of having the badge if it doesn’t allow one to break laws and rules without consequences?
Since the NFL is a private organization they should be able to make whatever rules it desires, right? Many libertarians have pointed out that the NFL should be able to declare what people can and cannot do on its property. I wouldn’t consider NFL stadiums private property. Stadiums are almost always financed with tax dollars. In my book receiving tax money makes me a part owner and I should be able to declare or ignore whatever rules I damn well please. If you want to be private property then you should have to pay for your facility yourself.
Of course this issue is unimportant to me, other than to demonstrate the fact that police want special privileges, because I don’t go to NFL games.