The Minnesota Vikings can keep making everyone check their guns at the door – even off-duty cops.
The state Supreme Court has decided not to hear an appeal from two Minnesota police union groups that took legal action against the National Football League (NFL) in 2014, after an off-duty Minneapolis officer was forced to surrender his firearm at a Vikings game.
As a result, the league’s ban on firearms will stand in Minnesota, at least for now.
The unions’ argument was that the NFL violated the Minnesota Citizens’ Personal Protection Act (PPA) when they made the officer surrender his weapon, and a Hennepin County District Court judge agreed with them.
But their victory would be short-lived: the NFL took the case to the Minnesota Court of Appeals, which ultimately overturned the district court ruling on the grounds that the PPA, “in its plain language,” does not apply to “active licensed peace officers.”
The police appealed that decision to the state’s highest court, which last week denied the unions’ petition for further review of the case, according to court documents.
An Associated Press piece on the supreme court’s move notes that some guns are allowed at NFL games – as long as they’re carried by “working officers” and security personnel.
The reasons for the court’s decision to deny the appeal aren’t clear.
BringMeTheNews has reached out to the Police Officers Federation of Minneapolis – one of the groups that brought the case – for comment.
