Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
When I go to a baseball game the worst I should expect to encounter is a hot line drive foul ball into the stands, not some irate drunken asshole waving around his gun.
Concert-hall operators and officials from sports teams are concerned about a proposed law they fear could open the door to allowing firearms at arenas and stadiums. Venue, sports officials fear bill allowing guns at events:
Senate Bill 1201, which the House Government Committee is scheduled to hear Thursday, would require that guns be allowed into public buildings and events unless they have metal detectors, armed security guards, gun lockers and signs.
The measure applies to courts, libraries and city council chambers. It creates an exemption for events or facilities, such as publicly funded arenas, that serve alcohol, requiring them to post signs and provide gun lockers if they want to prohibit guns. However, events without alcohol would likely have to comply.
Opponents say the bill's language is unclear and could foster the misperception that Arizona allows guns into major events such as Arizona Cardinals and Phoenix Suns games or rock concerts, where they believe alcohol and charged-up fans shouldn't mix with firearms.
Got that right!
"This bill will give the impression that Arizona allows guns into concerts and basketball games," said Terry Burke, president of major concert promoter Live Nation Southwest.
"There is a perception that you are allowed to bring guns everywhere, but then there are all these exceptions."
Burke said it appeared the bill would allow guns at family shows that don't serve alcohol, such as "Sesame Street Live" or "Disney on Ice."
"Mommy, that man killed Big Bird!"
But the Citizens Defense League, the gun-rights group that wrote the bill, said the measure would not apply to arenas and stadiums that serve alcohol.
"No one understands the gun laws," league spokesman Charles Heller said, contending that venues that serve alcohol are governed by a separate set of laws. "(SB 1201) won't impact them."
The bill would not apply to sports events held at universities, such as football games at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, because property that belongs to K-12 schools, universities and community colleges fall under a different section of state law and would not have to comply with SB 1201.
Private facilities would be exempt from the bill's requirements.
And who is the tool carrying water for the "happiness is a warm gun" crowd? Our de facto governor "King" Russell Pearce's toady Tea-Publican chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee (yes, him again), Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City.
[Gould] said the bill wasn't intended to target arenas, just public buildings. But he said he would like to see the metal detectors and armed-security-guard requirements expanded to include arenas at some point.
"I think fans would like that," he said, adding that it would give them more assurance that the facility was safe.
The only way to ensure there are no guns, he contended, is to have metal detectors – or build facilities using only private money.
"If they build their own stadium, they can do whatever they want to," Gould said.
You friggin' idiot. If I want to feel safe at a ballgame I should be able to rely on the common courtesy and common sense of people not bringing their guns to the game. What the hell is wrong with you people? And Gould's comment that "build facilities using only private money" tells me that he has another agenda in play here.
According to an analysis by legislative staff, it would cost venues about $5,000 per door to install a stationary metal detector, signage and a gun locker. It would cost $45,000 to $90,000 annually pay for armed security at each door.
"Any time you have an increased cost, somewhere along the line that cost ends up at the box office," Burke said.
Thanks for nothing, assholes. I suggest this law require that a line appear on every ticket purchase for the "Citizens Defense League Surcharge $__" so we know exactly how much these assholes are costing us for their gun fetish.
As the Arizona Republic points out in its editorial opinion today, this bill "would trample private-property rights and put new financial burdens on state and local budgets." Gun legislation goes too far:
It would ignore the long-standing consensus among Arizonans: There are some places where firearms just don't belong.
Senate Bill 1201 is so sweeping and so murky that legal experts can only guess how it would play out. One point is certain, though: It's ripe for lawsuits.
The Senate has already approved this dreadful measure. The House should reject it.
The bill has an exception for places and events with a liquor license: They could bar weapons without the extra entrance security. But they would still have to provide storage lockers. The Cardinals, Diamondbacks, Suns and Coyotes, which all use public facilities, would have an extra expense and headache.
In any case, the public and private sectors aren't neatly divided.
The Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry opposes the bill, pointing out that it would force private tenants and landowners to allow guns in common areas of an office complex if they happen to share space with a public agency.
What problem are we trying to solve, anyway? The status quo is working just fine.
Courting economic damage and legal challenges makes no sense.
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We are strong supporters of Second Amendment rights. But they are not a free pass to carry any weapon anywhere anytime. (Just consider the havoc if the public could pack heat in police stations and courtrooms.)
SB 1201 goes too far. The House should stop it.