Washington State Legislators Propose Bill to Allow Guns into Sports Stadiums

Legislators in the state of Washington have proposed a bill that would permit guns in sports stadiums.

The proposed bill "would prevent public stadiums or the private entities that operate them from banning people with a valid concealed pistol license from entering with a firearm."

If it passed, the bill would extend to Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, the homes of the Seattle Mariners and Seattle Seahawks, respectively, even though both are privately operated.

The NFL implemented a stadium gun ban in 2013.

In a letter defending the ban, Roger Goodell at the time said: “If permitted to carry concealed weapons, they create deconfliction issues for working law enforcement officers and increase the potential for “blue-on-blue” response confrontations. ... Moreover, off-duty law enforcement officers are not included in the on-site law enforcement chain of command or bound by department or agency-on-duty policies that that [sic] restrict their use of alcohol or subject them to other on-duty behavior standards.”