New Bill Would Allow Fans To Carry Guns Into Seahawks, Mariners Stadiums
SEATTLE (CBS) -- A new bill in Washington state would allow fans to carry guns into the stadiums of the Seattle Seahawks and Mariners.
The Seattle Times reports three Republican lawmakers, Matt Shea, David Taylor, and Bob McCaslin, proposed House Bill 1015 which would prohibit a "public stadium authority" from stopping a person with a valid concealed pistol license from bringing a gun into a stadium.
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"A public stadium authority may not prohibit persons with a valid concealed pistol license from carrying a concealed pistol in any facility or on any grounds of a facility that is owned, operated, managed, administered, controlled, or maintained by the public stadium authority, or leased or rented to a private or public entity by the public stadium authority," the bill reads.
It continues, "A private entity that operates, manages, administers, controls, maintains, or leases or rents a facility from a public stadium authority may not prohibit persons with a valid concealed pistol license from carrying a concealed pistol in the facility or on the grounds of the facility.
"A local governmental entity may not, whether by law, ordinance, regulation, rule, policy, or contractual agreement, prohibit persons with a valid concealed pistol license from carrying a concealed pistol in any stadium, convention center, arena, or similar facility, or on the grounds of any such facility, that is owned, operated, managed, administered, controlled, or maintained by the local governmental entity, or leased or rented to a private or public entity by the local governmental entity."
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CenturyLink Field, which houses the Seahawks, and Safeco Field, the home of the Mariners, do not allow guns inside their stadiums.
The NFL told The Washington Post that the league prohibits fans from carrying a weapon inside a stadium.
"We haven't seen the proposed legislation but we have a policy forbidding carrying a weapon into NFL stadiums," Brian McCarthy, the NFL's vice president of communications, told The Post.
