Major League Baseball bans concealed carry in stadia wherever its teams are playing. This is not news. Nor should anyone be surprised to learn that plenty of fans have carried otherwise legal concealed firearms at MLB ball games, regardless. Yes, well, TTAG reader Michael in GA writes that the League is now deploying portable metal detectors to prevent fans from brings guns, knives and large pieces of metal to games. In fact, all Major League teams are required to use the enhanced security measures by Opening Day 2015. A fact that didn’t work out so well for our man Michael . . .
I was stranded outside Comerica Park while CCW because they had portable metal detectors at every gate. I am here for a company event and was dropped off at the stadium via charter bus so I could not simply stow my pistol in my vehicle which is parked at Atlanta Hartsfield Jackson International Airport a few states away from Detroit.
Remember last year a Detroit Delta ticked agent called police to confiscate 30 rounds (all of my defensive ammo) because they were in two magazines locked in a hard case…which is supposed to be acceptable. If I was not paid to come to this annual event, I would never set foot in Baghdad…um…I mean Detroit again. TTAG might want to get on this story so this doesn’t catch anybody else off guard like I was.
True dat. Getting “caught off guard” for carrying a firearm illegally could ruin your whole day. Depending on the location (e.g., an airport security checkpoint or anywhere in New Jersey) you could be arrested and, yes, jailed. You could lose your gun rights. Or your job. Or be arrested, jailed, lose your gun rights and your job. And lots and lots of your money.
Carrying in compliance with the law is easier said than done. The U.S. is home to a patchwork of gun control laws that make it incredibly difficult to know where and when you’re good to stow. Find out which apply to you. Do NOT rely on advise from the police. Check the web for an authoritative source, then find another one, then check the actual statute.
As for readers who carry illegally, valuing their life above the possibility of arrest, my take is that it’s not worth it, generally. I know: you have a natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. I know: you can’t move or get a different job. I know: you don’t want to be a victim. But . . .
There are plenty of non-firearm self-defense techniques and tools that you can use to defend yourself and your loved ones. Nothing is better than a firearm for a defensive weapon – unless you don’t have one. In which case there are plenty of somethings that are better than nothing, from legal knives to canes. They require more training and increased situational awareness. But they’re worth it. Using them instead of carrying illegally reduces the risks enumerated above.
Don’t be that guy; the guy who would never hurt anyone (other than a criminal) who lost his gun rights for doing nothing more than carrying a gun.