Friday, September 16, 2011

Guess Where I *Won't* Be Going This Year?

...Foxboro Stadium. Thanks to alan for the tip:

NFL wants pat-downs from ankles up at all stadiums

The NFL wants all fans patted down from the ankles up this season to improve fan safety.

Under the new "enhanced" pat-down procedures, the NFL wants all 32 clubs to search fans from the ankles to the knees as well as the waist up. Previously, security guards only patted down fans from the waist up while looking for booze, weapons or other banned items.

Now, just off the bat I want to say that they have every right in the damn world to pat me down before I enter the stadium. They can make me strip naked and jump on a trampoline in front of a webcam if they want to before allowing me into their private stadium. Their place, their rules, and my decision to stay the hell away.

What I wonder, though, is how it works in areas where the local sporting complex is owned or supported with taxpayer dollars. Unless weapons are banned in arenas (like in NC), how can the NFL effectively ban CCW in a public place? If a sporting complex is built with taxpayer dollars - and I include instances where the city waives taxes to entice the complex to be built - then it would seem logical to allow CCW as per the laws of the state...

And really. If you want to "increase fan safety", there's only one measure needed: Ban alcohol. Don't sell it, don't allow anyone in that smells of it, don't allow it to be consumed in mass quantities in your parking lot before the game. You do that, you remove the vast majority of the element that's going to cause trouble. Of course, you'll lose a ton of money from people not buying 3-4 $8 beers, but hey, this is about safety, right?

Or is it that you know only a small percentage of the population goes armed, so telling them to screw isn't going to cost you?

BOYCOTT THE NFL.

That is all.

14 comments:

daeth said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
daeth said...

And I am also an idiot that I didn't fully read the post before I commented :sheepish:

Weer'd Beard said...

As I say when somebody invites me to a game: "But I can be bored at home!"

and given that home is where I have guns, video games, movies, pornography, and the internet (but I repeat myself) I tend not to be bored there...

Irish said...

I'm with Weer'd on this one :)

What is the security protocol now?

When I saw this article I was thinking follow the money. If there
was ever a mass killing at one of these games it would kill the industry. Not that I care.

TinCan Assassin said...

You know, I'm getting to the point where I'm thinking that we should let folks know that there are 2 responses to an Armed American. Leave him the hell alone, or try and take his guna away. And we should make option 2 hazardous to your health. Or maybe I'm just pissed off at more idiocy. I always was allergic to that.

bluesun said...

never been to a football game, don't know why I should start now...

Jake (formerly Riposte3) said...

Unfortunately, I think the publicly owned (paid for, whatever) stadiums would still fall under the "sensitive places" garbage from Heller.

Lynda Halliger Otvos (Lynda M O) said...

There are many reasons why I shun large arenas and big crowds. This is one of them.

Will Brown said...

Here in Texas, sports events (to explicitly include the venues they take place in), whether they feature school students or paid professionals, are locations expressly identified in our CHL legislation as being shootzen-frei. Not positive about what follows, but my understanding is that the justification largely rests on these situations being routinely associated with inflammed emotions and outspoken opposition to others and adding guns to that mix is just a bit too much to ask of anyone's self-restraint. Not at all positive about this , but I think it's legal to leave the hardware locked up in your vehicle even in the arena/stadium parking lot, but you'd want to double check that before heading off to a game. I don't personally. Go to the game.

Old NFO said...

I have a better seat in my living room, and heat or a/c as I need it :-) Screwem...

Ed said...

Not that I am plugging the product, but if they are not touching the region from the waistline to the knees, then something like the SmartCarry holster might be useful. See http://journal.drfaulken.com/smartcarry-concealed-holster-review/

If you wear one, you may rightfully say "Yes, I am better equipped than you and yes, I am happy to see you."

Dharmagirl said...

New reader,married to a military gun nut and second amendment lover/defender.

I agree with your thoughts on removing alcohol from NFL stadiums. I was born and raised in England, the home of hooliganism at sporting events (even at cricket matches now) and binge drinking. When you have large crowds of people who are passionate about a certain team and said teams are playing against each other, adding alcohol is akin to pouring gasoline on smouldering coals.
I don't go to major events for one simple reason: I don't like the majority of people who attend major events. So, I stay home and watch it on the telly instead. Saves me and the Hubs a lot of heartache and money.

Paul, Dammit! said...

Why yes, I would love to spend several hundred dollars to sit in an uncomfortable plastic seat and see little tiny people do things from a half-mile away, and now that we have the option of being sure that some stranger gets to third base with my kid (Just like at the airport!), where do I sign up?
Now, when lobster-pot hauling competitions catch on, I'll be there.

Also, I really wish Blogger had a 'like' button for Weer'd's comment.

TOTWTYTR said...

Given the antics of some of the players, maybe they should start by patting them down. Plaxico *ahem* Burris comes to mind, among others.