I used to be a big sports fan, but less so these days. Sports stopped being fun, unfortunately.
I'm also not thrilled with taxpayer money supporting multi-billion-dollar franchises. Especially since they take taxpayer handouts, then act like they're private entities in every other way, especially when it comes to carrying guns for self-defense.
In some states, a lot of public entities aren't allowed to ban guns on the premises. Public buildings are for the public, and that includes those who are lawfully armed.
But sports franchises in Utah seem to think they can take money from the taxpayers, while still barring guns like a private entity. For now, they can.
Unfortunately for them, a new bill would curtail that once and for all.
Fans of the Utah Jazz and Utah Mammoth will need to leave their guns at home — at least for the remainder of this season.
Rep. Candice Pierucci, R-Herriman, introduced legislation earlier this month that would require private entities that take more than $1 million in public funding to allow concealed firearms permit holders to bring their firearms into the venues.
The idea, Pierucci said, was brought to her by a constituent who wanted to be able to bring his firearm when he came downtown to watch the Jazz.
ADBut the NBA has a league-wide policy banning guns from its premises and numerous NHL arenas, including the Delta Center, prohibit firearms, as well.
So Pierucci changed her bill to require venues that take public money to provide gun lockers where patrons can check their guns.
I don't actually like that the measure is allowing the NBA to dictate state law here, but it's better than the alternative, I suppose.
Still, what's interesting here is that the teams can change what they do to continue to bar guns from their venues; they just have to stop taking so much in taxpayer money. Seems simple, right?
The problem is that much of the teams' profits exist only because of that public funding. This is true across most leagues, actually, which is why the teams keep threatening to move if the cities or states don't pony up even more funding.
If the Jazz or Mammoth want to keep guns out of the buildings entirely, they can just stop taking public money. It's that simple.
The problem is, they won't do it unless they're forced to, so this forces their hand in a different way.
Gun lockers are probably a somewhat acceptable compromise, since it allows people to be armed to and from the event, but it's still nonsense that a league policy is somehow being allowed to supersede what state law could demand. I mean, if I can't void state law on my actual property, how can the NBA decide it should void state law on property it can only hold onto with state money?
I'd love to see Pierucci change that and force the league to defend their right to override Utah law, especially since the Jazz takes so much in taxpayer money, but since that's unlikely to happen, folks in Utah will probably be glad to take what they can get.