I was a little surprised on Friday when I saw a police officer stationed in the hotel lobby, but when I talked to some of the other attendees about it they said that they had seen cops at hotels before. It very well could have been a high enough crime area that it would be worthwhile to do something like that. Then last night when I got back to the hotel I noticed there wasn’t a cop. I asked the woman working the front desk about the change in security and she said that the officer was probably there to provide some extra security for one of the groups at the hotel. I informed her that I was part of that group, thanked her for the information, and left.
I know atheists are the most hated minority in America and that atheist billboards are frequently vandalized, but I really hope that giving us our own police officer was an over reaction.
Oh, time to board my flight.
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It’s pretty common for hotels to require a cop to be present at conventions. I think insurance companies generally require a cop to be present if more than a certain number of people are in attendance, especially if alcohol is being served. I think it’s a CYA thing resulting more from the number of people gathering more than the reason they’re gathering.
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That makes sense. In addition to the American Atheists convention with 1300 in attendance there was a Christian denomination holding a conference there at the same time.