fish in a barrel

Better Half and I headed down to Atlanta this weekend, to hang out with some old college friends, and to take a gander at the new Georgia Aquarium. Given t hat Georgia has reciprocity with both Florida and Tennessee when it comes to concealed carry, I went ahead and took along my complete carry package – my Jeep knife, Surefire 6P Defender, Walther PPS, and extra magazine. It weighs a bit, but a good belt and a little practice gets you used to it.
Unfortunately, the Georgia Aquarium does not allow “guns, knives, lighters, matches, chewing gum, or fishing poles” within their building. Supposedly, this is all for the safety of the fish (I guess that is a new take on, “It’s for the children!”), but can you honestly see someone breaking out a fishing pole and trolling for a few whale sharks in the middle of an aquarium? Yeah. Fat frakking chance, especially given that only two of the tanks had open tops, and both of those were expressly for you to stick your hands into.
Anywise, I did not pay the warning a whole lot of attention, even after seeing repeated signs on the way into the building itself… that is, until I saw the people at the entrances with hand-held metal detectors. Unfortunately, those individuals were simply nothing more than an instance of “security theater“.
When we got up to their tables, we were made to empty our pockets – but no attempt was made to ensure we actually did so. With bags, purses, and the like, the employees at least performed a cursory poke-around. Then, the people with the handheld metal detectors wanded our front midsections… and that was it. Effectively, all they checked was our front pockets – and that was it. Not our backs, not our back pockets, not our chests, not our legs, not our feet, nothing except our front pockets.
Need I point out how many “guns, knives, lighters, matches, chewing gum, or fishing poles” one could easily carry into the aquarium concealed in those locations, without anyone being the wiser? The opportunities are endless! And yet this “security” is treated as somehow comprehensive, and an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of the fish and fish-viewers.
There is simply no way it does either. In fact, this is the kind of “security” that manages to royally piss the holy hell out of me – it gives the patently false appearance of efficacy, while falling down on every count. It gives the people on the inside of its jurisdiction the bogus feeling of safety, while guaranteeing no such thing. It could potentially convince people to lower their guards, pay less attention, and decrease their self-defense/awareness levels, while armed and dangerous predators could still roam free and equipped around them. It creates another shooting gallery, in the finest of “gun free zones” traditions.
Suffice to say, the Georgia Aquarium will not be receiving any money from me until such time as they revise their inherently unsafe “security” plans (our local hosts paid our way in this past time).
As for whether or not I was armed while in the aquarium… well, that is a matter between me and my holster. However, for those considering a visit there in the future, Georgia does not have legally-binding signage, meaning that the worst a business could do to you is to ask you to leave (and then if you do not, you would be illegally trespassing), and neither does the Aquarium appear to meet the “public gathering” requirement of Georgia state code 16-11-127. Just sayin’.
(Oh, and all of this ranting does not even touch the root concept of having to be wanded just to go into a bloody aquarium… how absolutely ludicrous is that?)
Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, DragonLady’s World, Shadowscope, Cao’s Blog, NN&V, Democrat=Socialist, Conservative Cat, , Political Byline, Allie is Wired, third world county, Faultline USA, Woman Honor Thyself, McCain Blogs, The World According to Carl, Pirate’s Cove, The Pink Flamingo, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.