Photo by Atlanta Falcons under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license
They've actually been violating state law since July 1st, 2014. (Edit: Since 2017 when they started playing games there) That's when the law was clarified to ensure that only PRIVATE property may ban firearms in addition to the spelled out off-limits location under state law. Those are the only two categories where licensed carry can be banned. Citizens are authorized to carry everywhere else under our State Constitution and Statue 16-11-127 of the OCGA.
The clarification I referred to above was the addition (in House Bill 60) of the word "private" placed four times into the weapons law right before "property".
However, lower courts were not able to read and comprehend this significant clarification of the law. Words mean things, okay judges? The Georgia Supreme Court had the last word and got it right Oct. 7th this year in case number S18G1149, "Georgia Carry, Inc. v. Atlanta Botanical Garden, Inc." That was also my case, by the way, and I am honored to be part of Georgia's judicial history.
The Court ruled that public property leased as a license only ("usufruct") is still public property. Guess what kind of lease the Falcons has? Yep, a usufruct.
So if it's public property, and if it's not considered to be a "government building" (government buildings can ban weapons when screening is in place, with a few exceptions such as courthouses which are off-limits even without screening), licensed carriers cannot be banned per Georgia's highest Court.
Guns in stadiums? There are people that will tell you guns don't belong in parks since you shouldn't fear any wayward squirrel hijacking you, or that guns don't belong in grocery stores because no one has ever been attacked by a head of cabbage, not counting the time one might have rolled off the pile and slammed into your foot.
Tell those same people bad things can happen anywhere at any time and they will just roll their eyes at you and call you a "gun nut". Put them in a dangerous situation with unpredictable armed thugs, and those same people will be doing two things: 1. wishing they were armed and 2. telling themselves if they survive, next time they will be.
Georgia Carry and the law should prevail. If it does, that means off-duty police officers, heretofore forbidden by the Falcons to be armed in the stadium, will be allowed to have their duty weapons with them, which will make for an even safer environment. Adding licensed carriers certainly won't hurt, either. We are not the problem in society, the criminals are.
The Falcons are not without options!
1. They can offer to buy Mercedes-Benz Stadium and own it outright, making it truly private property.
2. They can build their own private stadium.
3. They can make arrangements with a government council or board to use the existing stadium as the place where it meets in its official capacity, turning it into a "government building".
The option they don't have is not following the law. The law applies equally to all, no matter how rich or powerful.
Coolray Field, Infinite Energy Center, Chastain Park Amphitheater, and Gun Show Promoters who hold shows in public parks are among the venues that will also have to obey state law.
Coolray Field, Infinite Energy Center, Chastain Park Amphitheater, and Gun Show Promoters who hold shows in public parks are among the venues that will also have to obey state law.
Part 2:
If some might think a stadium too "sensitive" of a place for free citizens to retain their self-defense rights, consider that Hartsfield Atlanta Airport has had legal licensed carry of handguns and rifles in the non-sterile areas since 2014 with no safety issues.
ReplyDeleteAnd as far as carrying around crowds, I've openly carried my holstered pistol more than once at Stone Mountain Park's July 4th Celebration where the place was packed wall to wall with people, including women and children, with no issues at all.
Being hard to see anymore, I would rather have someone there to stop an attack than wait the time for police to arrive. Even in a stadium, response time will be limited unless the police just happen to be in the same area. When was the last time you saw more than a handful of security personnel at a stadium?
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