Weapons Policy

Policy

No weapons, replicas, facsimiles of weapons or items that could be perceived to be a weapon by a member of the public, will be allowed to be carried at Orbital; nor will any other object the committee deems to be dangerous. Hall costumes are not exempt. The committee has the final say as to what constitutes a weapon and reserves the right to revoke the membership of anyone who refuses to comply with this policy.

Note: this applies to sgian dubh and dirks, too. Yes, they're part of traditional highland dress, and yes, we're having a ceilidh on Friday, but no, that's not much comfort when Heathrow armed police descend on the con as a result of a member of the public over-reacting.

Toys

Items that are obviously toys (brightly coloured plastics and foam rubber etc), and do not shoot projectiles, are not included in these restrictions. If in any doubt, check with Ops first or preferably with a named person on the committee before the event - ideally emailing a photo of it to us.

Exceptions

The only exceptions will be for members intending to use a weapon (or a facsimile) as part of the Masquerade or an approved programme item. No guns or operational lasers will be allowed under any circumstances.

  1. Weapons may only be worn (although preferably carried wrapped) whilst walking between a hotel room and the Masquerade (and any official rehearsal) and back again. All Masquerade weapons must be affixed to the costume; participants may use (draw) weapons as part of their performance onstage, but at no other time and only with the approval of the masquerade director.
  2. Masqueraders should bring any weapons to Ops to be logged on arrival at the convention and inform the Masquerade Director as soon as possible.
  3. If a weapon is required in any other programme item you should clear it with the Head of Programme BEFORE the convention and bring it to Ops to be logged on arrival. Weapons for programme items should be carefully wrapped when carrying between a hotel room and the item.

Advice

Please also be aware of the very high level of security at UK airports and the surrounding areas and take extra precautions when carrying anything that may look like a weapon to or from your car, from another hotel, on public transport (in fact, best advice for public transport may be don't) or around the public areas of the hotel. Weapons may be left in Secure Store for your convenience but at your own risk.