Loaded gun found in seat of Animal Kingdom ride

Vater said:

Not saying a loaded gun on a ride is smart, but what's stupid about carrying one otherwise?

If you're going hunting, nothing. If your job requires you to carry large amounts of cash, nothing. If you work in law enforcement, nothing.

If you live in a Southern state and carry one *everywhere* you go just because you can....then, just maybe, something is up. It's possible that I just have a different perspective living in FL, but there are way too many "mishaps" that result in serious injury and death that simply wouldn't have happened without a gun being brought into a situation. And a lot of them involve children.

I would imagine most of the incidents involving children are in the home and resulting in the guns being too easily accessible. And there is a huge percentage of people who carry daily who have never had an incident. I'd love to see statistics on that, but the fact is we only hear about the incidents that do occur (although I do often read articles about people successfully defending themselves and/or their home which you almost never hear about in mainstream news).

Also, why did you single out Southern states?

Seems to be a lot of regional variation, and I know a whole lot more about where I live and what our "standards and practices" mean in daily life...

As far as "the vast majority of people who carry without incident" - I'll grant that the overwhelming majority of gun owners ARE responsible citizens. It's just hard to draw a line, pragmatically-speaking, on who is and who isn't, and we err on the side of individual liberties - sometimes to our societal detriment.

I'm sure it's no surprise that I don't consider that an err.

kpjb said:

Adult riders of It's A Small World come to mind.

As a younger child, It's a Small World was one of my faves. But now that I think about it...

Vater said:

(although I do often read articles about people successfully defending themselves and/or their home which you almost never hear about in mainstream news).

Because for every instance of this happening, there's at least 25 instances (or as high as 40 depending on what numbers you believe) of someone either accidentally or intentionally killing themselves or a family member with a gun. Given that kind of ratio, it seems the media covers more than an appropriate share of people who believe their crap is more valuable than someone's life "successfully defending their homes."

So the guns should be blamed, right? Not the people who don't bother to properly train themselves and keep sharp on a regular basis?

Beyond that, my original point was that for every instance of someone either accidentally or intentionally killing themselves or a family member, there are far, far higher numbers of responsible people who never have a single incident with a firearm.

who believe their crap is more valuable than someone's life

That's a tough call for me. Talk to me after I've had my bran muffin.

Personally, I think the whole discussion of whether it is appropriate to own or carry a gun, even the discussion of whether the permit holder should be able to carry a gun at Animal Kingdom, is irrelevant. Particularly since the park is, as I understand it, a no-go zone for CCW anyway.

I think Jeff's point is really the most meaningful, and kind of speaks to the mindset of this particular rider: most of us keep track of any of the much-less-important crap that we carry (wallet, keys, phone, etc.) almost reflexively when exiting a ride...how does a responsible permit holder not make sure he didn't accidentally drop his loaded pistol?

(In case you hadn't noticed, my earlier comment about the bag checks speaks to my general opinion of the effectiveness of such measures, which I think are fairly well known...)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

The "defending your home" argument always seems pretty weak to me. People who break into your house really don't want anyone to be there when they do.

Whether or not they want people home, sometimes people are home. Weak argument or not, it's a personal choice, and I'd prefer to have a means to defend my family should someone decide to break in when we're there.

If it's an odds thing that makes the argument weak, most people who own guns wish to never, ever have to use them for anything other than practice and sport; but they're nice to have should you be faced with the extremely rare scenario when you might need them for defense.

But I agree with Dave, this discussion is irrelevant to the topic. I just feel compelled to debate the other side when the "need" for a firearm in a particular scenario (or at all) is questioned.

Jeff said:

The "defending your home" argument always seems pretty weak to me. People who break into your house really don't want anyone to be there when they do.

Plus, Disney World is mainly a children's park, no offense to a few select adults. The point is, there's nothing at Disney you really need to "defend yourself" from.

Not true. Some of those characters will grope you when they can.

They're just patting you down looking for weapons.

It would definitely add a whole new dimension to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Zurg would get owned.

Carrie J. said:
Not true. Some of those characters will grope you when they can.

This is why I get depressed at Disney World. You hear about this stuff, yet it never happens to me. Ariel, Tiana, Snow White, Peter Pan... if I'm dropping this kind of dough on a vacation, I better get my ass grabbed.

All I got was when Mary Poppins slipped me her number. (sigh)

Peter Pan, kpjb? lol

I kissed Pinocchio on the lips at Disney World... when I was five.

LostKause said:

I kissed Pinocchio on the lips at Disney World... when I was five.

That's probably how you caught Gay.

LostKause said:

I kissed Pinocchio on the lips at Disney World... when I was five.

I wonder if I'm the only one who sees just how tremendous this is. Read this sentence again. Yes, this thread that began about finding a loaded gun on a Disney ride just ended at this sentence. CoasterBuzz is awesome.

Edit: Never mind, Gonch just took it up one more notch.

LostKause said:

I kissed Pinocchio on the lips at Disney World... when I was five.

Good thing he wasn't packing heat.

Lord Gonchar said:

That's probably how you caught Gay.

Gay no. Herpes yes.