Guns and Other Weapons at Airports

Fascinating Numbers about Guns in Airports

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"It strains credibility when 40 to 50 people a week show up with guns at the security checkpoint and then say 'I forgot.' They didn't forget their ticket. They didn't forget their pants. They've been on notice for over 12 years that guns are not permitted and it's time they be held responsible for violating the law."

Guns in Airports - Part 264

Local news reports

On Wednesday, a man on his way to Charlotte was stopped at Norfolk International Airport after officials say a loaded handgun was spotted in his carry-on baggage.

They say the gun was discovered while an officer was staffing the checkpoint x-ray machine. A loaded .380 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun was loaded with five rounds and one chambered officials say.

TSA officials notified the Norfolk Airport Authority. The gun and the ammo were confiscated and the man was arrested.

He was then allowed to take his flight without the weapon.

I suppose this clown had a concealed carry permit, which made me wonder. How stupid does one have to be to "forget" they have a gun in their carry on bag when going through airport security? Even if they receive only a slap on the wrist, the hassle is significant, at the very least, brief arrest, temporary loss of the gun. 

Yet, it happens fairly often. What I wondered is what percentage of permit holders travel by air. Not most, surely.  Most people never travel by air, or once in a lifetime. That means that if ALL of them were frequent fliers we'd have an extremely high number of these incidents because so many of these guys are that stupid.

Guns in Airports - Most Offenders Walk

via ssgmarkcr

  " I came upon this article and it piqued my interest because of your posts regarding people forgetting firearms in their carry-on and getting caught by the TSA. 

    Its interesting that at least in Texas, the mindset seems to be that if you've gotten a carry permit, you are showing intent to be a responsible person and without some evidence showing evil intent, its assumed that it was an unintended mistake. 

    I'm also a bit troubled though in regards to people "forgetting" where there firearm is.  I have spent a good deal of my life in the Army and it was force fed constantly that weapons are always properly secured or under someone's direct supervision, be it a pistol, or a tank.

    Another facet of this concern is my having children in the home.  The only firearm/s that aren't locked up are in my possession.  Someone with no children wouldn't need to maintain the same level of in-house security as I do."

Chicago Woman Brings Gun to the Airport Gets Arrested

Local news reports

A suburban Chicago woman has been charged with boarding an aircraft with a weapon after allegedly bringing a loaded gun into Midway International Airport.

Josephine Coleman of Country Club Hills was ordered held in lieu of $25,000 on Sunday. According to police reports, the 25-year-old was arrested Saturday after allegedly putting a bag containing a loaded handgun on a Transportation Security Administration X-ray machine. Police say Coleman said she didn't realize the gun was there.

The police report states Coleman has a valid Firearm Owner's Identification card and she told police she is in the military.

Salt Lake City International Airport Finding Twice as Many Guns this Year as 2012

The Salt Lake Tribune

The Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday found their 30th gun at the Salt Lake City International Airport security checkpoint — this year.

This time, a .380-caliber Smith & Wesson Bodyguard pistol was in the carry-on bag of a male passenger heading to Las Vegas, said TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers in a tweet. The firearm was loaded with eight rounds, one of them chambered, Dankers added.

Airport police cited the passenger with carrying a loaded firearm through a screening checkpoint.

The pistol is the same as the last one the TSA found at the airport.

The find further cements 2013 as worse than 2012 in terms of passengers not heeding the TSA warnings about guns. Last year, the TSA found 20 guns at the security checkpoints.

The TSA urges everyone to only transport unloaded firearms in a locked, hard-sided container either in or as checked baggage. All firearms, firearm parts and ammunition are prohibited in carry-on baggage.

Airport Gun Seizures on the Rise

A 380 Ruger LCP pistol, loaded. Seized May 28 from a Tennessee salesman, 45.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/03/3080823/gun-seizures-on-the-rise-at-rdu.html#storylink=cpy

The News Observer

More and more gun owners this year are trying to board airliners with weapons tucked in their pockets and carry-on bags, the Transportation Security Administration says. TSA screeners at airport checkpoints across the country seized 894 guns, most of them loaded, during the first six months of 2013 – 30 percent more than in the same period in 2012.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/03/3080823/gun-seizures-on-the-rise-at-rdu.html#storylink=cpy

“We’ve become such an armed society that people actually aren’t thinking about the fact that they’re carrying weapons with them,” [Wake County prosecutor] Willoughby said. “That’s a little bit sobering, to think that we are so accustomed to carrying a firearm with us that we often don’t think about it or realize that we have it.”

That, plus the fact that the downside is not all that severe. If these oversights were treated more seriously, like gun misuse should, we'd see a dramatic decline in these reports.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/08/03/3080823/gun-seizures-on-the-rise-at-rdu.html#storylink=cpy

54 Loaded Guns Seized at Airports Last Week

NBC

The TSA announced a dubious record this week, reporting that it had seized 65 firearms at airport security checkpoints.

The seizures buried the previous mark of 50 guns, the TSA reported, and included 54 loaded weapons -- 19 of which at rounds chambered.

Among the seizures was a firearm strapped to the prosthetic leg of a male passenger at Salt Lake City International Airport. Authorities said the passenger received a pat-down after an anomaly was detected during advanced imaging technology screening.

During the pat-down, officers discovered a fully loaded .22 caliber firearm inside the passenger's boot and strapped to his prosthetic leg. The man was arrested by Salt Lake City Airport Police on a state charge of "carrying a concealed weapon in a secure area."

I'm sure the poor, persecuted gun owner just forgot the gun was there in his fake leg. The resultant arrest, at least according to the gun-tights fanatics, would be overly harsh, evil, some of them would say.  The problem is it's impossible for the authorities to distinguish between the guys with bad intent and those who are just stupid and irresponsible. This is not unlike the poor, persecuted Texan who just needed to nap in NJ.

One thing for sure is, guys who illegally bring guns to the airport, or into New Jersey, for whatever reason, should lose their right to own guns.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.