If they held pro-Kerry signs and shotguns but did so in a peaceful non-threatening manner (doubtful given that they are mean-spirited liberals), I don't believe I have a right to order them off my driveway if they just happen to be standing there and not obstructing anything. Maybe they are unhappy with my pro-Bush sign.
If they stand there too long, I will have them arrested for loitering.
But you are making an apples and oranges argument. An employer's rights are not the same as a homeowner's. As a business, you are subject to certain laws covering businesses that do not apply to homeowners.
True, employers can generally have the right to hire and fire as they please. My problem is with the specific policy they are trying to implement and the invasion of privacy they necessarily take to determine whether someone has a weapon in the locked trunk of their car.
Again, let's say they had marijuana (something that's illegal as opposed to guns) locked in their glove compartment. Does AOL have the right to break into your car and search the glove compartment in order to prove whether you have brought an illegal substance onto their property?
No, but they do have the right to require you to submit to a search if you park on their property.
This is probably a situation where somebody "finked" on a fellow employee and started all this. AOL was probably more than happy to follow up on it.
But you really don't appreciate your rights as a property owner. You can require them to do anything you want as a condition of their existence on your property. The idea that you have to wait until they are loitering until a trespass law is violated is silly.