Well, that didn’t take long. A day after the governor of Arkansas signed into law a new act allowing gun owners to bring concealed weapons into campus facilities and sporting venues, the state Senate is making a change to prevent guns from entering football and basketball venues.
As we discussed yesterday, House Bill 1249 in Arkansas would have allowed gun owners to bring a concealed handgun into a football stadium or basketball arena even if that stadium has a no weapons policy. To do so, the gun owner had to have completed the proper training, an eight-hour training class. Now, because the state Senate appears to have some common sense, a no weapons policy will overrule the right to bear arms at a football game in the state of Arkansas.
“People like to have a good time before the game, during the game, people get emotional and angry during the game,” Democratic state representative Greg Leding said to the Associated Press. “I think the idea of introducing loaded weapons into those situations is just ridiculous.”
Absolutely. The act is being hailed by supporters for adding further security to people in any area, but it just seems as though this is more of a hassle to deal with than anything when it comes to what a fan may or may not bring into a football stadium.
This new law was not supposed to go into effect until January, but the state Senate wasted no time in making this adjustment. This may be all that ends up getting amended to the act.
