More guns seen at airports! I forgot I had it!

[tipoc]

A news article caught my eye. The AP reports that the TSA is finding an increasing number of folks trying to get into the airport and past screening while carrying a gun.

The TSA reports that in the first 6 months of this year they stopped passengers from getting past security with 894 guns in their possession. This was a 30% increase in the number of guns that were stopped from the same period last year. These were not guns in locked gun cases.

In May alone they picked up 65 guns in one week. Two weeks earlier they stopped 50.

People were stopped with shoulder holsters with loaded pistols in them. In one case last year in Sacramento, Ca. a man took off his jacket to go through screening and he was carrying in a shoulder rig. The same man had 3 knives, 3 more pistols and 192 rounds in his carry on.

In Charlotte, N.C. a person had a loaded .45 under the lining of their carry on bag. In Connecticut a fella had a .38 strapped to his left ankle. In Utah a fella was carrying a piece in his boot strapped to his prosthetic leg.

They have found guns in purses, concealed on the person and in carry ons.

Most folks stopped were not arrested. They were given back their weapons and told to take them home or lock them in their vehicles, etc.

In almost every case the people, when asked why they thought they could bring a gun and ammo onto a flight said they had "forgot" they had it with them.

Which kinda begs the question, if you are in the airport with the armed guards and the screeners and the x ray machines and the long lines of folk getting patted down, etc. and you forget you have a piece on you, well when else are you gonna forget?

The article: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d2...gers-Guns/id-d34d946eae854f49bf9017a11a274169

tipoc

 

[guyfromohio]

Those of us used to carrying as part of daily wardrobe could easily be distracted by the anxieties of airline travel. I've put my pocket knife with my keys through the scanner many times.

 

[Potatohead]

deleted-off topic and stupid post

 

[Deus Machina]

My knife, I can see. That goes in my pocket like my wallet because it's only a tool.
But when I pick someone up from the airport, I'm already checking every ten minutes to make sure that, yes, I did leave the gun in the glovebox.
I just don't get how people can 'forget' they have it with them in a place pretty much specifically designed to make you paranoid.

 

[pockets]

I heard this story yesterday on the radio. The funny part was the newscaster.
He kept raving about how "some of these guns had loaded clips[sic]"....and worse yet..."some had a 'bullet' in the chamber!"
Then he ended with an almost screech of, "Why would anyone ever keep a 'bullet' in the chamber of a gun?"
.

 

[pardiniman]

Maybe this is why the TSA is arming more agents and Clocking Range time for them .

http://www.infowars.com/is-homeland-security-set-to-arm-tsa-agents/

 

[itsa pain]

ive got firearms nowhere near me at the airport-my Dr has to load me up on zanex for me to even be able to step foot on a plane- im petrified...guess i shouldnt be broadcasting that to the world but oh well, it is what it is..

that is powerful drug should not let to many people know about it the way that they are looking to restrict guys on meds

 

[waterhouse]

My knife, I can see. That goes in my pocket like my wallet because it's only a tool.

I treat my gun in a similar fashion. If I'm wearing pants or shorts my gun goes along with my wallet and knife because it is only a tool.

While I've never accidentally brought my gun into an airport screening line, before we leave for vacation my wife usually goes through the list, "Do you have the boarding passes? Wallet? Phone? Take you gun off?"

But when I pick someone up from the airport, I'm already checking every ten minutes to make sure that, yes, I did leave the gun in the glovebox.

Are the non secure areas of airports prohibited in Florida?

 

[ny32182]

As far as I know, non-secure areas are not prohibited in my state and I've carried into them many times.

Most times I fly I take one or more pistols with me, checked of course... can't say I've ever been on the verge of trying to go through security with them on, but some of you guys need to lighten up a little.

 

[JustinJ]

I treat my gun in a similar fashion. If I'm wearing pants or shorts my gun goes along with my wallet and knife because it is only a tool.

While my gun goes with me where it can, you and I both subject to 30.06 signs. Partly because of that, I could never forget i'm carrying as i'm constantly checking the doors of businesses i enter.

Also, I think it would be very difficult to forget i'm carrying due to the size of all pistols but the pocket .380's. Also, I'm always very careful to ensure my shirt doesn't ride up when I exit the car or rise from sitting.

 

[HankR]

My knife, I can see ...because it's only a tool.

As is my gun. Why do I have to obsess over it. I'll leave that to the antis.

 

[Midwest]

A news article caught my eye. The AP reports that the TSA is finding an increasing number of folks trying to get into the airport and past screening while carrying a gun.


Most folks stopped were not arrested. They were given back their weapons and told to take them home or lock them in their vehicles, etc.

If that happened in NJ or NY...those people could be looking at some serious jail time and several thousand in lawyers fees.

 

[leadaddict]

Why do I have to obsess over it.

Wait a minute... I though everyone on this board obsessed over their guns! It is after all, a gun forum.

 

[Pilot]

I carry a gun every time I fly, but then again I don't have to go through screening to get in my plane.

 

[PabloJ]

If they institute $1000 fine per incident the problem will go away.

 

[BSA1]

I'll confess up. I worked for many years in max security prison and always carried a small Swiss Army knife in as it was allowed per policy. It was a part of me. A few years ago we were doing a lot of commercial airline flying and, well you guessed it. The female TSA officer literally came unglued, held it up by her fingernails while yelling "Whose knife is this?" Fortunately I avoided arrest by allowing them to seize it.

A LEO friend was off duty and forgot he was packing at the airport. Female TSA panicked, lots of excitement even though he explained he was a LEO. Supervisor came and allowed him through with his gun since the airport was inside city limits. He said the female TSA officer was very upset at him for being allowed to keep his gun and glared at him.

 

[BSA1]

$1,000 fine huh? You mean like how excessive fines reduce speeding and DUI's?

 

[tipoc]

$1,000 fine huh? You mean like how excessive fines reduce speeding and DUI's?

Don't worry the revenue will go to fund schools and children's hospitals. It's always for the children!

tipoc

 

[Deus Machina]

Yes, yes, the gun is only a tool, too. But it's one I stake my life on, so I remain fairly well aware of it. Maybe it helps that I've never found one I like that's light enough to not feel the weight of.

No, unsecure areas aren't prohibited but there's plenty of security around that isn't aware of that or really care, and I'm sure I've seen metal detectors at the entrance to them before. Just the type you see at a bank or something, not the more expensive ones.

But I usually arrive before the plane does, and I tend to wait for them at the ramp.

 

[Ignition Override]

Pilot:
True, but you can't afford to make a mistake during a turnaround when you want to go find a quick sandwich.
They closed the DTW ramps (J7/J8 etc) several years ago, for about fifteen minutes when a guy left his in the cockpit, and it was later found (in the pack?) on the ramp.

FFDOs have left them in hotel rooms, crew vans etc. Imagine the thought when one realizes...Most people would rather go through normal security crew lanes and the newer version, with no worrying about being almost chained like a slave to that little 'master'.

 

[AlexanderA]

The kind of person who "forgets" that he's carrying a gun through an airport security checkpoint is obviously so lacking in "situational awareness" that it becomes an open question whether he should be carrying in the first place. Or, more likely, he's not really "forgetting" but is testing the limits of the security system. Either way, there should be some serious penalties for such behavior, not just "here's your gun, take it back to your car." He gets no sympathy from me...

 

[Twiki357]

Personally, I would like to see the most simple solution to the problem.... Get rid of the TSA. Then I might even consider flying again.

 

[TRX]

I've been carrying two pounds of surgical stainless steel in my left leg for 28 years now, and metal detectors are my enemy. Every time I see one, I know there's hassle ahead. Every airport, Federal building, some state buildings, overzealous businesses... all it takes is the words "metal detector" to raise my blood pressure.

I'm not buying "I forgot I had the gun with me."

 

[PabloJ]

Don't worry the revenue will go to fund schools and children's hospitals. It's always for the children!

tipoc

It's simply a penalty for disruption of flow and inconvenience of longer wait for those standing behind in line after irresponsible gun packing person. I do think lack of consideration for others should have a price attached to it that is all.

 

[coloradokevin]

It seems a bit silly, but these things happen, and they probably happen far more often to people who carry all the time. A slap on the wrist probably solves the problem in most cases, as opposed to the 'drop an anvil on their head' approach that seems preferred by the feds these days.

I've carried a gun on me every day for the past decade, and I carry a gun every day at work. It's as much a part of my wardrobe as car keys, a cellphone, shoes, or sunglasses. Granted, I'm always careful about procedures at airports, but carrying a gun isn't the least bit abnormal to me. I've also carried a gun at an airport as part of my professional duties.

While I also wonder how these things happen, I can sometimes see how such an oversight might take place on occasion... I had an oversight with a bottle of water two years ago (granted, not the same as a gun, but still against today's rules). For years I've flown with something to drink, since I tend to get thirsty. Security procedures in the past few years have prohibited walking through the line with a liquid, but they haven't stopped you from carrying a bottle. As such, I normally dump my water in the parking lot, go through security with an empty bottle, then fill the bottle at a drinking fountain on the secure side of the airport prior to taking a flight. But, one day I was running really late for a flight and I forgot to empty my water bottle. The TSA clowns got a bit bent about it, but they got over it. Poop happens.