ROANOKE (CelebrityAccess) — Second amendment enthusiast Ted Nugent reportedly banned guns from the venue during his performance in Roanoke on Tuesday night.
According to local NBC Affiliate WSLS, Nugent’s management team made the call at the 11th hour to bar guns from Nugent’s performance at the Berglund Performing Arts Theater.
A rep for The Berglund Center told WSLS that because the venue is city-owned, it can’t bar guns from the property unless it is requested by a performer or their team. The Bergland rep said that that ban on weapons was included in Nugent’s contract, but the venue was unaware of the restriction until just prior to the show because it was part of a sub-contract between Nugent and his promoter that wasn’t shared with Berglund Center management.
“It happened about five minutes before we opened doors, we had a security meeting before we opened doors and the subject came up and we said, ‘Yes people will be bringing firearms,'” Berglund Center General Manager Robyn Schon told WSLS. According to Schon, it was then that they learned about the clause.
A line had already formed at the door when the venue announced that weapons would not be allowed and that security would conduct pat-downs. Fortunately, only two concert-goers were carrying firearms and were asked to stow the weapons in their vehicles, WSLS said.
Nugent has long been a vocal advocate of 2nd Amendment rights and open-carry of firearms, but apparently, his security team doesn’t fully share his views.
“Given the things that have happened in nightclubs like the Pulse and what happened in Manchester, (Nugent’s) security people are taking extra precautions,” Schon told WSLS. “They are not novices; they are very seasoned people.”
