Saturday, December 12, 2015

Armed at Disney

There is a Facebook argument raging over this news article from WFTV with a misleading headline saying "Man arrested for having gun at Disney" the headline should read "Man arrested for illegally carrying weapon without permit." (The headline has since been changed). The man was arrested because he was carrying a concealed weapon without a valid permit.

The argument centers around a few points, every one of them showing ignorance of the issue. Here they are. The first few are legal arguments, the next few are moral.:

1 It is illegal under (Federal law/Florida law) to carry a gun into (a theme park/Disney).
No it isn't. There is not a single law that prohibits concealed carry into a Florida theme park.

2 Disney prohibits carry of guns. If you carry, you are guilty of armed trespassing.
This is not true either. Armed trespassing in Florida requires that the armed person be specifically told to leave, and refused to do so. A generic "no guns" policy or sign does not meet the notification requirement. The Disney spokesman seems to think that corporate policy has the effect of law, but he is mistaken:

"We immediately engaged law enforcement and the matter was resolved quickly and without incident,” a Walt Disney World representative said. “Our policies are clear, and we have zero tolerance for any violation of them."

3 Why do you need to carry a gun at Disney? Here is my only answer to that.

4 Disney has crack security. They will protect me.
Actually, Disney security, at least here in Orlando, is unarmed. They hire off duty Orange County deputies to serve as armed security. They do have bomb dogs, though. The handlers for these dogs are apparently unarmed. The only people who claim that Disney has a secret SWAT team and a crack team of secret security, the person doing the discussing has struck me as a bit of a mall ninja.

5 Why do you need to carry a gun around so many kids?
For the same reason I carry elsewhere. Criminals don't magically cease to commit crimes in the vicinity of children. Here is one such post:
All this debate about how you can take a gun anywhere with such and such licence. LISTEN TO YOURSELVES! you're trying to justify bringing a GUN into a park full of KIDS! I am not comfortable with anyone carrying guns near my kids or encouraging such violent behaviour this is why kids are killing eachother get a grip u bunch of fools!!!!!

6 The guy was obviously compensating for his small penis.
That is a good way to have a rational gun discussion: make dick jokes.

7 All people with a gun fetish should be psychologically evaluated, as they obviously have mental problems.
Perhaps they should do the same for people who want to comment on the Internet.

8 Concealed carriers don't stop mass shootings.
I pointed out the New Life Church. Here is the response I got:
I question the intelligence of someone who would fire a gun at a car in a public parking lot. She had no way of knowing whether there was a child in the car or not. She was not saving someone who was being murdered, raped or kidnapped. She wanted to be a hero, and didn't care that she might have been putting innocent people in danger. The icing on the cake is when she immaturely and petuantly declared she was "never helping another person" for the rest of her life. Is this the kind of person we want to be firing a gun in public?
9 People who carry guns because of the small chance of a crime are paranoid.
One poster pointed out that people who own fire extinguishers are not considered paranoid. The reply was pure gold that displayed the moonbattery for all to see:

Who has fire extinguishers in their home? I find a fire alarm is adequate. I guess you have a fall out shelter incase of nuclear attack too? Leave firefighting and law enforcement to the professionals.


These people are completely unhinged and will not listen to facts or reason. The good news is that many people are realizing just how stupid and pedantic the anti gun position is. 100 million firearms sold in seven years.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I had planned to carry on my last visit, based on some of your previous comments. At the last minute, I was overweight on my bags, and decided not to. Part of my decision was that I wouldn't be 'off property' during the entire visit. Another part was that my bags would be out of my control, as di sney was picking them up at the airport and transporting them to the hotel. This is a change from the way they used to do Mag ical Express, where you would collect your bag (and could remove a firearm.)

I was questioned about a camera bag under my shirt, entering one of the parks, worn like a Sneaky Pete holster, so they are looking, at least some of the time. Lesson learned- go thru the bag check line, let them look in your bag and don't print.

I was also questioned the day I carried my benchmade pocket knife clipped to my pants. Lesson learned- unclip it.

I have reciprocity, but it would have been very inconvenient to return to the hotel, and would have raised issues with the group that I wouldn't have liked to discuss on vacation.

So I was reluctant to go unarmed, but learned some valuable things for next time if I choose to carry.

=n

SiGraybeard said...

That last one is pretty amazing. I don't think I've seen that level of cluelessness. I wonder if their homeowners/renters insurance would drop them over that? Of course, it's the law to have one on your boat.

Anonymous said...

And at New Life, she shot the guy in the hallway around the church before he could enter the worship area. The killer actually shot 2 people in the parking lot.

Brass

Carrying said...

Remember the Clackamas mall incident too. http://www.kgw.com/story/news/2014/07/24/12405148/

(Notice Wikipedia makes no mention of the concealed carrier stopping the shooting)