Civil Liberties

Major League Baseball Mandates Metal Detectors at All Stadiums, Working With Homeland Security to "Standardize Security Practices"

America's game

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take me out to the ball game, make sure you screen the crowd
Reason

America's favorite pastime is about to get more American but less likeable.

From the AP:

Entering a big league ballpark will be a bit like going through an airport by 2015.

Major League Baseball has told its 30 teams they must implement security screening for fans by then, either with hand-held metal detection or walk-through magnetometers.

"This procedure, which results from MLB's continuing work with the Department of Homeland Security to standardize security practices across the game, will be in addition to bag checks that are now uniform throughout MLB," baseball spokesman Michael Teevan said Tuesday.

The Seattle Mariners will have metal detectors at their stadium starting this season. During the last season, the Oakland A's, San Francisco Giants, New York Mets, and Pittsburgh Pirates all tried some kinds of screenings. Bag checks are already standard at baseball, and many other, stadiums. Major League Baseball says it's trying to "standardize security practices" in cooperation with the Department of Homeland Security. Feeling safer yet?

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