Individuals within the Minnesota law enforcement community are unhappy about the National Football League’s (NFL) policy that forbids anybody other than on-duty officers working at a stadium from carrying a firearm into that stadium. I don’t really care about what policies the NFL sets since I’ve never been a fan of football handegg. But I find the lawsuit that the Minnesota law enforcement community has brought against the NFL interesting:
An association representing Minnesota police officers is suing the National Football League over a policy that prohibits off-duty officers from bringing their weapons into an NFL stadium.
The part I find most interesting are the justifications given for the lawsuit:
Attorneys argue that many off-duty officers keep their concealed weapons with them so they can respond to an incident or intervene during crimes if they come up, meaning they can “protect the public at a moment’s notice.”
The attorneys also argue that officers often have personal threats against them and their families because of their role in prosecuting criminals and that having a concealed weapon gives them a certain level of security.
These very arguments being made to allow off-duty law enforcement agents to carry firearms into NFL stadiums apply to every one of us who chooses to carry a firearm. We often carry firearms to protect ourselves and our loved ones at a moment’s notice. Many of us who choose to carry a gun do so because personal threats have been made against us (thankfully I’m not in this lot but I know a couple of people who are). If this suit ends in the favor of the plaintiff if could open the door for a lawsuit from individuals holding valid carry permits.
Normally I would point out that the NFL, as a private entity, has every right to make whatever rules it wants for its property. But so much of the property held by the NFL was paid for by money stolen from tax victims that I find it difficult to argue that the public doesn’t have a legitimate claim to approve or disapprove of stadium rules.