Disney employee fired for bringing concealed gun on day off

A Disney employee who was fired last month for carrying a concealed weapon to Disney Springs on his day off is questioning whether the company violated his Second Amendment rights.

Sam Martinez, a foreman in the company’s transportation division, was fired after he had a concealed weapon with a permit during a Disney Springs trip on Nov. 13 trip with his wife, according to WFTV9.

Somehow, the report says, security officers realized Martinez had a weapon, and even though it was under his shirt, they confronted him.

When he showed them his concealed-carry permit, they at first asked him to leave the property.

But when they discovered he was a Disney employee, everything changed.

“(They said), ‘You can’t have that here, and you can’t be a Disney employee and be carrying. It’s against our policies,’” Martinez told WFTV9. “Well, I had never been informed of that.”

Martinez was immediately suspended, and later fired.

Gun policies at the company’s parks are clear, the WFTV9 reported, but Martinez said there were no signs at Disney Springs prohibiting concealed carry.

Now, Martinez questions whether Disney had the right to fire him for legally carrying a weapon on his day off.

“It’s a Second Amendment right for me to carry legally,” Martinez said. “I did everything legally and now it’s almost like I’m being punished for it.”

Since the firing, Martinez said he learned that Disney has prohibited employees from bringing weapons onto any company property.

He says if he had known that before, he wouldn’t have had his gun.

This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 8:45 AM with the headline "Disney employee fired for bringing concealed gun on day off."