More Guns at NFL Games? Police Union Asks League to Lift Ban on Fans Carrying Concealed Firearms

The National Fraternal Order of Police tells NFL in a letter that more guns are needed to protect players, personnel and fans from terrorist threats.

The National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) says more guns are needed in NFL stadiums to prevent against the threat of terrorist attacks by the Islamic State.

Fox News reports the FOP — the nation’s largest police union — asked the NFL to lift its ban on fans carrying guns games, particularly retired and off-duty law enforcement officers permitted to carry concealed weapons.

FOP President Chuck Canterbury’s letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell on Nov. 20 said the ban on guns “weakens the safety and security of NFL players, personnel and fans.”

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“The terrorist attacks and threats of attacks from organizations like the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are selecting targets based on the amount of death and injury they can inflict — mass murder and casualty events,” the letter reads.

“Well attended venues and areas are being deliberately targeted by the radical killers who do not intend or expect to survive the assault. Law enforcement, even when working actively with highly trained and skilled security professionals, cannot be certain that all threats will be detected and neutralized.”

NFL teams and venues could make their own decisions on whether to allow guns or not until the official ban by the league in 2014.

“We concluded that public safety inside NFL stadiums on game days would be best-served by the carrying of firearms by on-duty officers specifically assigned to work the game as part of the comprehensive public safety plan for the event,” NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told Fox News. “This approach has been certified by the Department of Homeland Security under the SAFETY Act (Support Anti-Terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies).”

McCarthy added that off-duty police officers might not have the same training as the on-duty officers and are not involved in security preparation meetings leading up to games.

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