California bill would ban violent fans from games
San Francisco Chronicle / 3-14-12
A state assemblyman from Los Angeles who was infuriated by the near-fatal beating of San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow outside Dodger Stadium last year has introduced a bill that would create a list of hooligans banned from attending professional sporting events.
It's a roster no fan would want to make, and would be published online by the state, like the Megan's Law database of sex offenders. Unlike typical sports rosters, this one would feature a criminal history rather than stats like batting average.
People convicted of serious or violent felonies at sports arenas would qualify for bans of up to five years. Those caught attending a game anyway would be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $10,000 fine.
"We have a situation where a lot of people are now afraid to take their kids to a ballgame," the bill's author, Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, said Tuesday. "People go to games and have a couple cans of courage, and then they take the fun out of it for the rest of us."
MORE: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/03/14/BAKR1NK8FH.DTL
The bill would affect major-league franchises in football, baseball, basketball, hockey, and soccer.
While I abhor violence, this is over the top. It's a "technical" ban, because as the article points out, fans do not show I.D. at the gates. Imagine the game day chaos if they had to.
Teams need to employ greater security measures and legislators need to increase fines and enforce stricter jail sentences.