Theme parks think laws don't apply to them

Today I've highlighted individual rights more than the equally patriotic theme of reining in corporate power, but this is a story about both.

Recently, Florida finally passed a law that said corporations can't prevent employees and customers from storing legally registered guns in their cars parked on the property. The issue pits individual rights versus corporate power, so it should be clear where I stand. (My support of such a law also quiets those who might accuse me of supporting taking everyone's guns away - especially since I favored overturning the D.C. gun ban.)

The law was opposed by hackneyed Big Business interests such as the Florida Chamber of Commerce but it was favored by labor groups such as the AFL-CIO.

But now Walt Disney World says most of the law doesn't apply to it. In a memo about the new law, a Disney big shot bragged that "this law does not apply to Walt Disney World Co. owned and leased properties." Because of Disney's belief that it's above the law, employees may still be fired if they have a licensed gun in their car.

Now can you see why places with a theme make me run out of steam (as that old radio ad said)?

Disney's excuse is that the law has an exception for companies whose primary business is making, using, storing, or transporting explosives. Oh, so the Disney Co. took over Smoke Pot?

Do Disney World's execs really expect anyone to buy that reasoning? Last I checked, Disney World isn't a fireworks factory, nor does its primary business involve explosives.

Actually, the resort has been thumbing its nose at the law since 1966 with its Reedy Creek Improvement District bullshit. The Reedy Creek Improvement District is a scam that lets Disney World be exempt from zoning laws and do things like abuse eminent domain to condemn property for its own use. The creation of the district also let the resort accept state bonds for its own use - thus beating out Orange County's plan to use the bonds for low-income housing.

Disney isn't the only park guilty of trying to ignore the new gun law. Universal Orlando is pulling a similar scam by citing the fact that the resort features a work-study program staffed by the local school system. This program is only a tiny portion of the resort, however.

If Corporate America thinks laws don't apply to it, then honestly, what are we supposed to think? I think they're just being scofflaws. This is almost as bad as Starbucks deciding to disobey the court order that requires it to pay back the tip money it stole.

(Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/tourism/orl-disneyguns0308jul03,0,4282076.story)