From airports to Disney World, the fight to limit firearms continues in the courts

ATLANTA—Following the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a ban on handguns, gun opponents are fighting to preserve or expand gun-free zones, igniting battles over whether civilians should be allowed to carry loaded weapons to places such as airports, public parks and even the Magic Kingdom.

The same day a new law went into effect in Georgia allowing people who have obtained a legal license to carry loaded weapons into restaurants that sell liquor, state parks and public transit systems, Atlanta officials declared Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport off-limits, citing security concerns. Gun proponents immediately filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the decision.

Reacting to Florida's new law allowing workers to keep concealed firearms in their vehicles in employee parking lots, Walt Disney World amusement park declared its parking lot exempt. Disney security guard Edwin Sotomayor protested the rule and said he planned to challenge it in court. Disney later fired him, saying he violated employee policies.

Gun-rights advocates are challenging the U.S. Interior Department to reverse a long-held regulation banning loaded firearms in most national parks. The department is reviewing its policy, which officials said deters illegal hunting and makes the parks more attractive to families.



The Supreme Court ruled last month that the 2nd Amendment protects an individual's right to own firearms for self-protection, fueling efforts by gun advocates to overturn gun bans in cities such as Chicago. But some law professionals said the ruling didn't specifically address how laws should be applied in particular venues, thus leaving it to lower courts to decide.

"The decision is not a model of clarity," said Jon Vernick, co-director of the John Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research. "There will be a bunch of lawsuits about a bunch of different kinds of federal, state and local laws. It is tragedy that resources that could be devoted to trying to prevent 30,000 gun-related deaths in the U.S. every year will instead be devoted to defending lawsuits."

Quickly after the Supreme Court ruling, the National Rifle Association filed lawsuits against cities with handgun bans. In addition to Chicago, Illinois communities included Morton Grove, Oak Park, Wilmette and Evanston.

While Mayor Richard Daley has vowed to fight against lifting Chicago's ban, Wilmette repealed its ban last week and Morton Grove, the first in the nation to outlaw handguns, is expected to repeal its ban this week.

The NRA also filed a lawsuit challenging San Francisco's ban on firearms in public housing.



Restrictions loosened
While there were calls for stronger restrictions on firearms after the shootings at Virginia Tech last year and at Northern Illinois University in February, many states, particularly in the South and West, instead have made it easier to obtain legal firearms and expanded where they can be carried.

The Georgia General Assembly last year passed legislation that went into effect in July expanding public places where guns could be carried, intending it to include non-secure areas of airports. While federal law bans guns past the security checkpoints at all U.S. airports, easing restrictions in public, non-secure areas could threaten national security, according to Hartsfield General Manager Ben DeCosta and Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

"The key here is what is the common-sense approach for the millions of people who travel in air transportation," said DeCosta, adding that Hartsfield, the world's busiest airport with 89.3 million travelers last year, is basically crime-free. "We all have a right to be safe and secure in a post-9/11 environment. But dangerous weapons carried by untrained people create a more dangerous environment."

In response to a letter from DeCosta, the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), asked the Transportation Security Administration to clarify whether it has federal jurisdiction over areas outside the security checkpoints.

"The Atlanta airport is the busiest in the world, and it would be a major security vulnerability to have loaded guns on the premises," Thompson said. "My particular concern is that loaded weapons in any airport pose a security risk that should not be tolerated. Whatever authority we have in place to fix it, we should."

Thompson said he is prepared to hold congressional hearings in September to further the investigation.

TSA spokesman Christopher White said the TSA is looking closely at the issue. However, he said, the agency concentrates on areas within the security checkpoints and works with local jurisdictions that have local ordinances regarding areas outside the secure points.

While no exact numbers were available, some airports have long allowed civilians with a legal license to have firearms in the parking lot and in public areas of airports, including restaurants, gift shops and baggage claims. The rules vary from state to state and city to city.

Because Chicago has a citywide ban on handguns, firearms are not allowed at either of its airports.

"States are all over the map with regard to prohibitions in airports," said Sean Broderick, spokesman for the American Association of Airport Executives. "In general, states with concealed-carry laws are either silent on the issue, expressly prohibit guns in secure areas — which mirrors federal law and could likewise be read to allow guns in terminals — or expressly prohibit guns in airport terminals except if they are being checked for transport."

According to John Monroe, a lawyer representing gun advocates who filed the Atlanta lawsuit, more than 40 allow licensed gun owners to carry firearms in some fashion into non-secure areas of the airport.

Monroe, who successfully blocked Atlanta earlier this year from declaring city parks as gun-free areas, said, "They are making this out to be some strange anomaly, but you can carry guns in airports all over the country."


Gun-free zones
While federal law establishes government buildings and areas within 1,000 feet of a school gun-free zones, local government officials and private businesses have moved to establish gun-free zones in places such as city parks, shopping malls and workplaces. Those zones can be challenged in court if the state passes a law allowing firearms in public places, according to Vernick.

Officials at Disney in Orlando, which has been an opponent of easing gun restrictions in the state, said Disney properties would continue to be gun-free zones, despite a new Florida law that went into effect this month.

The law allowing employees with concealed-weapons permits to keep their guns locked in their cars while at work exempts companies that use or store explosives. According to Andrea Finger, spokeswoman for Walt Disney World Resorts, the amusement park, which holds nightly fireworks displays, falls in that category.

The sponsor of the bill, however, told the Orlando Sentinel that the exemption was intended for places such as defense plants and Air Force bases, not Disney. Finger said Disney supports the lawsuit filed by the Florida Retail Federation and the Florida Chamber of Commerce to overturn the Florida law.

Gun advocates, meanwhile, said they would continue challenging rules that violate the law.

"Declaring an area gun-free will not stop a criminal," said Erich Pratt, spokesman for Gun Owners of America. "You've never seen them pick a police station to start shooting. They're going to pick an area where they can be the only one there with a gun."