Update: In my interview recorded at 6:00pm Aug. 8th, 2022 with Peter Biello of GBP, I mentioned Live Nation's "unforeseen circumstances" statement, and Mr. Biello stated they didn't say that, but instead said "circumstances beyond our control". Afterwards, I thought about it and clearly recalled seeing their first statement, also in this report:
Mr. Biello acknowledged my email to him regarding this change of statement from Live Nation.
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I just learned right after 3:00pm today (Friday, July 29th, 2022), in a phone call with independent journalist George Chidi of Fox 5 News, a 3rd party told him that Atlanta Mayor Dinkins Office * has confirmed that Live Nation will soon announce they are cancelling their September Music Midtown concerts at the City of Atlanta's Piedmont Park.
According to rumors, some performers may have a contract rider that does not allow them to perform in venues where firearms are permitted under state law, but that hasn't been verified. Live Nation's policy banning weapons at the concert wouldn't be sufficient to comply with that clause if it exists, as it would run contrary to state law. John Ruch at Saporta Report has been hearing it might be due to insurance issues - whether or not related to our state's gun laws, he didn't specify.
If the insurance issue was related to our gun laws, then Live Nation had even MORE of an incentive in the last almost three years they've known about this, to obtain a private venue.
Live Nation scrambled at the last minute to find a private property venue, instead of a publicly owned park, but was not successful.
Last May 9th, I emailed Live Nation President, Peter Conlon and his assistant, explaining state law in Georgia with regard to lawful weapons carry on public property, that he had no authority to ban legally carried weapons at Piedmont Park, but received no reply, as I suspected would be the case.
Around three weeks ago, I also posted the following on the Music Midtown Atlanta Facebook page, also with no response from Live Nation:
"If you'd like to attend the festival (and have a ticket) while legally armed (Live Nation does NOT have the authority to ban legally carried firearms or other weapons at any public park in Georgia, per state law), you can file suit against Live Nation for their stated intent to infringe upon your rights. A good gun-rights attorney to contact would be John R. Monroe. Disclaimer: Atty. Monroe did not ask me to post this, but he has been my attorney and is the best in my opinion."
Live Nation has actually had since October 2019 to get their act together, for that was when the Georgia Supreme Court ruled that firearms cannot be banned on public property unless the entity leasing that property has a lease which grants an "estate for years" (some ownership rights). Live Nation merely had a City Permit to conduct their concerts in the park, much less any sort of lease.
Also, from Feb. 18, 2020, here's a screenshot of me informing Live Nation on their Midtown Music Facebook page:
Live Nation holds concerts at other publicly owned venues in Georgia, such as at Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park, a public City of Atlanta Park.
One wonders if the fallout from this will affect those other concerts as well, as more out of state performers become aware of our weapons carry laws.
Lest anyone think our guns laws should be a problem for these concert promoters, there are performers who have no issue with good citizens legally carrying their firearms to their concerts in Georgia. One example pertains to Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre. On their website they only ban "Illegal Weapons", and that did not prevent singer Taylor Dayne from performing there last June 25th. I've attended their amphitheater twice in the past for other events, and wore my holstered sidearm openly with no issues at all from either police, the performers, or my fellow attendees.
Live Nation may try to blame Georgia Carry (now GA2A) *** or me for their woes, but as mentioned before, the law was passed in 2014 and clarified in 2019, so crying about state law in 2022 would look rather childish if they did so. But queue the violins!
Also look for blame to be placed on the new permitless carry law, which allows citizens who already qualify for a license, to carry a pistol openly or concealed without a license. This has no direct bearing on Live Nation's self-inflicted problems, it just means a government permission slip is not needed to protect yourself, if you're a law-abiding citizen. Criminals will carry regardless.
The Live Nation fiasco may have cost them and/or any insurance policy they might hold, millions of dollars. When that much is at stake, you'd think they would have planned better and obtained a privately owned venue from the start, where they could lawfully ban weapons, or at least have been prepared to follow state law when hosting concerts on public property. Live Nation has other problems as well.
* The City of Atlanta was happy to provide a permit to Live Nation even after I had emailed their law department last May 13th to inform officials of Live Nation's stated plan to ban weapons at Piedmont Park in violation of state law. But that's Democrats for you with their disregard for our state's gun laws, and our right of self-protection in public.
*** I did not pursue the issue of Live Nation's weapons bans at venues in Georgia on GA2A's behalf. I did so personally on my own as a private citizen advocating for our well established self-defense carry rights in my birth and home state of Georgia. If we little folks have to follow state law, the big wigs with the big pockets have to follow it also - particularly in a city with as much crime as Atlanta, which clearly warrants being armed at all times for your protection from criminals.
Reporter George Chidi is covering this story: https://mobile.twitter.com/neonflag/status/1553059211214471170
ReplyDeleteAlso see reporter John's Ruch's article: https://saportareport.com/music-midtown-to-announce-its-position-amid-rumors-of-gun-law-issue/sections/reports/johnruch/
ReplyDeleteCopy/paste the comment links above, as they are not clickable.
ReplyDeleteAxios also wonders why Live Nation didn't plan better:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.axios.com/local/atlanta/2022/08/01/music-midtown-canceled
Those vilely attacking me on the Internet simply refuse to see the truth that Live Nation had years to get their act together to obtain a private venue if they had a issue with our gun laws in Georgia.
ReplyDeleteI did Live Nation a favor by informing them as early as Feb. 18, 2020 that they lacked the authority to ban lawfully carried weapons at Piedmont Park. Why should they get a pass on following state law that was originally passed in 2014? Are they especially exempt from the law?
Perhaps now because of this they will plan better in the future, instead of being bobble-headed about it. But they never stated the real reason as of yet. Why? Because they KNOW they'd get called out on their lack of planning if they said it was due to the gun laws.
Folks on Reddit are thinking that I deleted my account. I did not. Apparently presenting facts there is a down-vote activity, and low "Karma" points can possibly hide your account. Oh well, LOL!
ReplyDeleteThose who are losing their minds over this are attributing too much power to me. I did not make Live Nation cancel their event, that was their call. I also did not write or sign the 2014 law into existence. I also neither sued Live Nation, nor threatened to sue them. I merely pointed out they would open themselves to that possibility if they violated someone's rights. And that would never have been me, since I never purchased a ticket. I only insisted that they follow state law in support of my fellow Georgians who have the right to carry in public parks under state law. Period. They had years of notice and cannot claim ignorance of the law.
ReplyDeleteSome Internet news articles and online social media discussing Midtown Music's cancellation are also mentioning the Sweetwater 420 Music Festival held each year in Centennial Park, as if they might not be able to ban lawfully carried weapons as a result of Georgia law.
ReplyDeleteFolks, they didn't do their research. They HAVEN'T banned weapons since 2018!
Early in 2018 they changed their website's prohibited items wording from "weapons" to "illegal weapons" after I contacted the Georgia World Congress Center which owns the public state park.
GWCC's attorney, Pargen Robertson, assured me the festival would follow the HB 60 state law passed in 2014 which specifies that only truly private property can ban weapons.
So much for "journalism" these days! Earn your money, lazy reporters!
Now if Sweetwater 420 Fest can follow the law with no problems with legally carried guns (have you heard of any?), then Live Nation can do the same. They did not have to cancel and give a phony mushed-mouth excuse. They known about HB 60 since 2014, and certainly since 2019 when the Georgia Supreme Court established the test of when publicly owned property becomes "private".