Non-permissive environments

I despise that companies with anti-gun and pro-child molester policies, like Disney. However, far too many of my friends want to go there, so I have passes to all of the major Central Florida theme parks: Sea World, Disney, and Universal Studios.

These parks are all what is called a "non permissive" environment for people with concealed weapons. That is, no one is permitted to have weapons on property, but this is only a corporate policy, not the law. It is perfectly legal to have a concealed weapon on your person, but if you are caught with one, they will ask you to leave. As far as I know, this includes police officers who are not on duty. To enforce this policy, security has a mandatory bag inspection and randomly runs those entering through a magnetometer. For some events, ALL persons entering are required to pass through the magnetometer.

I have used my pass to thoroughly test the theme park security systems. They all failed spectacularly. Let me explain the flaws that I saw:

1 About a month ago, I went to one of the parks and, as usual, skipped the bag check because I had no bag. As it turns out, every person who didn't have a bag was asked to go through the magnetometer. The security failure here is that the magnetometer is not random. If a person had a bag, they were not being asked to go through it. So, bring a bag, and no magnetometer. Non random checks are easy to beat. I had no firearm on me that day, because we were there to experience some adult beverages with some friends, and I do not carry firearms when drinking alcohol. Even so, the search still missed a can of pepper spray and a push knife.

2 When going through the bag check, the security guards only give a perfunctory look into the main compartments of a bag. On multiple occasions, a Coronado Concealed carry Hobo bag, with its hidden compartments, was used and not thoroughly searched. As a result, a Smith and Wesson 642 was missed every time this method was tried.

3 Even if you are asked to go through the magnetometer, it proved easy to beat as well. Wear a belt with a large metal buckle, like this one. Then carry a small handgun like a Smith and Wesson Bodyguard or a Smith and Wesson 642 in a Thunderwear holster or a pair of boxer briefs with a pocket for a cup. (The Bodyguard is more comfortable in these holsters). When the security guard wanded the front of my body, the detector went off…exactly as expected when the detector is placed in close proximity to a large metal belt buckle.  I lifted my shirt so he could see the buckle.  When the alarm sounded, he already expected it and attributed the alert to the belt buckle instead of the gun stashed just underneath it.  The rule is: “show security what they expect to see.”  The guard expected that his wand would go off when passed over a large metal belt buckle.  It’s up to me to use this expectation to my advantage when I conceal my weapons.

Keep in mind that most of these places are paying security somewhere in the area of $12 an hour or so. These rent a cops are not that sharp, or they would be making double or triple that as real cops. They are being asked to screen tens of thousands of people a day, and just like garrison troops, they become lazy and complacent. They must sit there and check thousands of people in the hot Florida sun for hours on end, and do it for very little pay. They aren't going to be thrilled to investigate your crotch too closely, and if they do, it is inevitable that they will eventually get sued, so they don't.

In short, it is easy to get a weapon into a non-permissive environment with just a little forethought and ingenuity. I am sure that there are other ways, but these have worked for me so far. Let me point out a couple of things:

Nothing that I did here was illegal. If I had been caught, the most that would happen is that I would be asked to leave, and perhaps given a trespass warning. Don’t carry a weapon in any place where you are prohibited by law from doing so.  Use these techniques only in places where it is LEGAL, but against company policy, to carry a weapon.

One other thing to keep in mind.  It was EASY for me to get weapons into a “secured” venue.  I could have very easily taken more or larger weapons.  Do you think that an active killer or terrorist couldn’t do the same thing?  Don’t think you are “safe” because there is a rent-a-cop with a metal detector at the front door of the event you are attending. If this were to happen, don't think for a minute that Disney, or any other large company, is going to take the blame for what happened. You will be dead, and they will absolve themselves of all responsibility for creating a defenseless victim zone.

We already know that the Orlando shooter looked at Disney theme parks as a potential target. ANY place where people gather is a potential target for terrorists. Keep your eyes open, stay armed, and be ready to take action.