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.
Perhaps we should treat this like a prohibited person trying to buy a firearm, if the TSA finds the gun before you get on the plane, they were successful, so no harm, no foul.
ReplyDeleteI know you're joking. But what is the appropriate sanction for this behavior, in your opinion?
DeleteSir, you'll have to put that in a checked bag or abandon it like the other gentleman did with his hairgel. You can either risk missing your flight while you run get an appropriate case, or we can sell you a regulation-satisfying hard case and lock for $100, you can stuff it in your carry on, and check that bag.
DeleteMike,
ReplyDeleteCurrently, I think the system isn't working too badly. In current day travel, you have to be taking some stupid pills to forget you have a pistol in their luggage. So, currently, the best outcome is that you in essence pay a fine equal to the cost of the gun, and possibly other charges. I had a reasonable experience with the TSA once. I was on active duty at Ft. Dix,NJ for three years after my deployment to Iraq. I would get a four day pass every month to fly home to Minnesota for some family time.
One day, while going through security, the guy x-raying bags sent my backpack through over and over. They finally found a single rifle round at the bottom of one of the pockets. Police were called. We talked it over at the checkpoint. The single round was actually a defective round (dented primer), and I hadn't actually possessed any live ammo since my return from Iraq.
Police kept the round, and I was allowed to catch my plane. I later received a written warning from the TSA which also commented on my cooperation. Now keep in mind that this happened after I had been doing this for eighteen months. So, at least seventeen times, I had flown from Philly to Minneapolis round trip and the rifle round hadn't been noticed. I told the officer to five the x-ray guy an atta boy.
What would I like to change? How about a baggage prescreen area that allows you to put items in checked baggage if its found. This would give travelers a chance to safely transport the items legally. If they decide to skip the prescreen, then they lose the piece and have possibly other legal troubles. Maybe its something the airlines could offer for one of their many extra fees.