Music Midtown Fest Canceled Because their Ban on Guns at the Fest Might Be Illegal
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Music Midtown Festival in Atlanta was set to take place from September 17-18 at Piedmont Park. Bands palying included Turnstile, My Chemical Romance, Jack White, Phoebe Bridgers, Mitski, Future, Phoenix, Fall Out Boy, Denzel Curry, Freddie Gibbs, 100 gecs, 2 Chainz, Tinashe, and more.

However, today, the Festival was canceled. Insiders have confirmed that the cancellation was related to the Festival's stance on Guns- they are not allowed at the festival. However, months ago, after this policy was posted, Guns right advocates informally challenged the ban by citing a 2019 Georgia State Supreme court ruling. In several letters and other forms of communications, guns rights advocates threatened to challenge the festival policy, citing a 2019 case.

In GEORGIACARRY.ORG., INC. et al. v. ATLANTA BOTANICAL GARDEN, INC, the state Supreme Court ruled that state law prohibits banning weapons in public places on publicly owned land. (The case itself was whether gun owners could be banned from carrying guns in gardens leased from the state- the ban was found to be illegal).

As per festival insiders, because the Festival is held on public land under a short term lease, event operators were concerned that they too would be liable if they refused to allow guns on festival grounds. In lieu of allowing guns on festival grounds- where people drink and often accidentally bump into one another- the festival has canceled their event for safety reasons. They stated, simply, "Hey Midtown fans — due to circumstances beyond our control, Music Midtown will no longer be taking place this year. We were looking forward to reuniting in September and hope we can all get back to enjoying the festival together again soon.”