Atlanta hosts more than 700 conventions each year. But unlike most of those, at the annual pop-culture convention Dragon Con, you’re allowed to bring in guns — fake ones, that is.If your costume for Dragon Con includes a prop weapon, you might get a tap on the shoulder from someone like Amanda Tucker.She is part of a small army of security volunteers making the rounds through the lobby of one of five major hotels that host the convention, which draws more than 85,000 attendees.Spotting a prop gun through the crowd, Tucker makes her way over to an attendee.“Is anything ever going to fire out of this gun?” she asks. It’s clearly made of rubber, but Tucker sticks to protocol, pointing it safely toward the floor.She fastens a bright, orange zip tie around the fake trigger. This is called “peace-binding,” and it is a sign to others that the weapon has been inspected.“Please make sure this stays on the entire weekend,” Tucker says, before moving onto a plastic knife.“Peace binding” is standard policy for fan conventions like Dragon Con, where many people dress up as their favorite video-game or sci-fi characters, according to Joshua Doss, who heads security for Dragon Con.
