text: Conservative legislators in Washington state have proposed a bill that would allow fans to bring guns into stadiums. 
   
   The bill was proposed by Republican representatives Matt Shea, David Taylor and Bob McCaslin and would prevent stadium operators from stopping members of the public with licenses to carry concealed firearms from entering their venues with weapons. Stadiums affected would include the Seattle Mariners’ Safeco Field and CenturyLink Field, the home of the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks and MLS’s Seattle Sounders. The Sounders won their first MLS title on Saturday night with victory over Toronto FC. 
   
   On Sunday, the NFL told the Washington Post it would oppose the bill. “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, said in a statement. 
   
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   Although US sports do not have the same reputation for violence as some of the more dangerous parts of European and South American soccer, there would be obvious concerns about allow firearms into venues with alcohol and where passions can ignite. The Seahawks have the lowest arrest rate in the NFL, with 0.8 arrests per game. The San Diego Chargers have the highest, with 24.6 arrests per game – although that figure is partly influenced by the team’s “zero-tolerance” policy. 
   
   The bill is likely to face strong opposition in Washington, a state with a strong Democratic base. ||||| A new proposed amendment to the Revised Code of Washington would change laws currently prohibiting a private company, such at the Seattle Seahawks, from banning guns from stadiums on public land. 
   
   It's not currently illegal to carry a firearm into a game under Washington law, but CenturyLink Field, as well as Safeco Field and any other stadium, are allowed to prohibit folks from bringing certain items, including firearms, into said stadiums. 
   
   House Bill 1015, proposed by three Republican members of the state House of Representatives, would eliminate the stadiums' ability to "prohibit persons with a valid concealed pistol license from carrying a concealed pistol in any facility or on any grounds of a facility." 
   
   CenturyLink, like Safeco, is located on public property. But it's run by a private enterprise, one that prohibits people from bringing in guns. 
   
   The new law, first noticed by the Seattle Times, would change that. Here's the full text of the proposed law: 
   
   NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. 
   
   A new section is added to chapter 36.102 RCW to read as follows: 
   
   
   
   (1) 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. 
   
   
   
   (2) 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. 
   
   Additionally, the law seeks to prohibit "any local government" from stopping folks from carrying guns into stadiums or convention centers, etc. 
   
   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. 
   
   The logistics of bringing a pistol into a stadium legally would be tricky to say the least, particularly when you consider the current restrictions on items allowed into NFL games. 
   
   The league doesn't allow most bags in games, requiring fans to utilize clear plastic bags to bring items into games. It would be a stunning turn if the league suddenly allowed people to bring firearms into the stadium. 
   
   And there's the whole matter of fan safety, of course. We saw in Raiders-Chiefs that people aren't afraid to fight in the stands of a football game following a couple of beers and a heated rivalry in a frigid night football game. Fighting in these situations is far from uncommon -- adding bullets and guns to these situations literally has deadly potential. 
   
   The NFL is hardly afraid to utilize its leverage in certain political situations, typically behind the scenes more than outright, and it would hardly be surprising to see the league cough loudly and inform local politicians that the passage of such a law would be greatly frowned upon.
target: – Lawmakers in Washington state are floating a controversial idea to let sports fans bring guns to the stadium. Under the proposed amendment to state code, private entities that operate stadiums would not be able to prevent people with licenses for concealed guns from entering while armed, reports CBS Sports. In this case, the law would cover CenturyLink Field, where the Seattle Seahawks play, and Safeco Field, where the Mariners play. Not on board with the idea? The NFL. “We haven’t seen the proposed legislation but we have a policy forbidding carrying a weapon into NFL stadiums,” the league's vice president of communications tells the Washington Post in an email. As the Guardian notes, "there would be obvious concerns about allow firearms into venues with alcohol and where passions can ignite."