Marriott exposes NRA conventioneers to criminal prosecution

[Red]

Red,
Didn't realize you were the guy in the article. I still have my doubts, but give 'em hell! I hope you do wind up getting the restitution you're asking for.

Best of luck to you!

I am not the guy who wrote the article, but I have spoke with Paul. I am one of the guests who had checked-in before the sign was posted and I authored the letter.

[thefirstndsecond]

Were most of those trips following the dead around...


Just kidding.

Are there Marriots near the convention center for next year?

If so then an email campaign may be in order.

[Red]

[QUOTE=thefirstndsecond;1214037]Were most of those trips following the dead around...

Just kidding.
[QUOTE]

Acutally mosty of those trips were for business travel.

[gprimr1]

Isn't it that if a company has a no gun policy, and they catch you, all they can do is ask you to leave? The police only get involved if you refuse to leave.

[Red]

Isn't it that if a company has a no gun policy, and they catch you, all they can do is ask you to leave? The police only get involved if you refuse to leave.

Here is the NC law for those interested: http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedL...14-415.11.html

The part of the law in question here is, "...where notice that carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited by the posting of a conspicuous notice or statement by the person in legal possession or control of the premises."

The crux of the issue is the sign was posted AFTER hotel guests were already in the hotel, some with their legally carried firearms. This effectively put all those people in jeopardy of being charged and arrested under N.C.G.S. 14-415.11(c) the law listed above.

This is a case of the hotel's management posted the property in direct volation of Marriott's corporate policy, and in doing so placed many guests who had researched the property and it's policies, in jeopardy of being charged and arrested under North Carolina law.


What is most ironic is the fact that the following people where at the hotel when the sign was posted:

• Alan Gura, Lead attorney for DC v. Heller and McDonald v. Chicago
• Alan Gottlieb, founder and Executive Director of Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms and the Second Amendment Foundation
• Joe Tartaro, Second Amendment Foundation director
• Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) who also spoke earlier at the Time Warner Cable Arena adresssing the same audience as Wayne LaPierre, Chris Cox, Sarah Palin, John Boton, Chuck Norris, and others.
• John R. Lott, author of “More Guns, Less Crime”

I also saw the employees of Glock, Barretta, Federal Permium, Crimson Trace, The Second Amendment Foundation and others who were staying at the Marriott while exhibiting at the NRA Annual Meeting.

[YosemiteSam]

I stayed near Lowes Motor Speedway at a Sleep Inn and had a nice in room safe.

[Red]

Do you feel safe at Marriott Hotels? How do you feel after reading this?

Last year after intially saying in court that a Connecticut woman raped at gunpoint, in the Stamford Marriott Hotel & Spa parking garage, in front of her two young children, ”failed to exercise due care for her own safety and the safety of her children and proper use of her senses and facilities,” the hotel chain is dropping its defense because of a public relations nightmare. (http://content.usatoday.com/communit.../08/68496944/1)

Then there is this article titled "Chief Security Officers roundtable: The economy’s effect on security management" (http://www.securityinfowatch.com/roo...2450?pageNum=1), specifically noting the answers from Chad Callahan, Marriott’s EVP of Enterprise Loss Prevention.

Question 1:
The current business mantra seems to be “Do more with less”, and this has affected security and risk departments as well as all business units. How are you doing more with less?

Chad Callaghan’s Answer:
CSOs who are truly engaged have to balance the realities of the economy with the risks inherent in their businesses. An example of how to balance the two is by conducting risk assessments on the products, services or properties you are protecting and then developing cost-effective measures to replace security staff with more efficient security technology.

Question 2
How has the current state of the economy affected the risk and threat vectors you are presented with? For example: Are you facing an increase in property-type crimes? Workplace violence? Data theft?

Chad Callaghan’s Answer
There is no question that crime and threats have increased over the past 12 months or so in our business. Our internal investigations has so much demand that the staff has developed an "investigations hierarchy", effectively limiting the level of their involvement to cases that have a high value or executive interests. It appears that many people, both guests and employees are being impacted by the economy, leading some to pursue illegal means to compensate.

Chad Callaghan is on record in this publication stating that he is an advocate replacing security staff with security technology. Then he admits that crime has increased in the past 12 months or so at Marriott hotels, to the point where it is limiting their ability to address all cases, except for the high value ones and the ones of executive interests.

The combination of less physical security and more crime does not mesh well with Marriott’s statements regarding the events at the Charlotte Marriott which includes the statement, “As always, the safety and security of our guests and associates is a top priority."

It seems to me from reading the above mentioned article, that only cost saving and addressing high value and executive security concerns are the Modus Operandi at Marriott International, based on Chad Callaghan’s statements in the article.

This information supports the need for guests to be able to legally protect themselves on Marriott branded properties. Specifically since Marriott's EVP of Enterprise Loss Prevention, current board member of the ASIS International, and and industry roundtable expert, is advocating for the reduction of security staff in favor of technology and pubically admits that the security staffing is so low at Marriott that it is limiting their ability to address all crimes at Marriott hotels and they focus only the ones of high value and executive interest.

This does not give me extreme level of confidence in Marriott’s ability to guarantee my personal safety at one of their branded properties.