30 cal slut, there are some serious problems with the way your airport is operating. Where do you fly?
You mention that:
'many times, after TSA gives you the little orange card to put in your gun case'
Since 9/11 I have flown on over 600 flights and this week coming up I am on 6 flights in 5 days. I have NEVER had TSA give me a 'little orange' card. In the last 20 years of flying with firearms, it has always been the airline counter personnel, even in California. In fact it is not a federal requirement that a written form be filled out. TWA use to just make an electronic note of it, no tag was ever issued. The airline has its' own rules that it follows and most have a tag to sign, but they aren't all orange (Southwest uses a white tag). From the TSA website:
* The firearm must be declared ORALLY or in writing in accordance with the air carrier's procedures (contact your air carrier for their specific procedures).
As you can see from this the TSA even says to check with the air carrier. The declaration is made to the airline, so how have you been getting 'orange cards' from TSA and where? I am going to have some FUN this week. I am already on a first name basis with some of the regional and airport heads of screening for TSA and don't have a problem adding more.
Two other things bother me about your post. The first I originally blew off as my misunderstanding, but then you followed up later with a second statement:
firearms and, separately, ammunition
Recall that ammunition has to be checked separately from firearms
Neal Know wrote in a Shotgun News column this same falsehood. This is ABSOLUTELY incorrect. I have had to fight this information at a couple of airports, most recently in Austin a couple of weeks ago with airline counter personnel, and with TSA in Evansville, In. about a year and a half ago. Ammunition CAN BE CARRIED IN THE SAME HARD CASE AS THE FIREARM.
49CFR1540.111 governing the passenger:
'(d) Ammunition. This section does not prohibit the carriage of
ammunition in checked baggage or in the same container as a firearm.'
and
49CFR1544.203 governing Operations:
'(g) Ammunition. This section does not prohibit the carriage of
ammunition in checked baggage or in the same container as a firearm.'
You are not doing the rest of us any favors by inventing more regs then there are.
There MAY be an airline rule on the airline that you travel on that has that requirement. That is not impossible. According to federal regs a passenger can carry a chemical weapon, like mace, tear gas, or pepper spray, in checked baggage, but restricts it to a 4 oz container. This was to allow LEO's to transport their spray. HOWEVER, both Northwest and Continental Airlines both prohibit chemical sprays from checked baggage regardless of size. So if you are having to pack ammo separate from the firearm you may be running into an airline reg. I can't believe that they would want passengers to check more bags, but it is possible. I have not run into this on Northwest, Continental, Continental Micronesia, Delta, Southwest, American, TWA, nor United, but those are the only carriers that I have flown in the last 5 years. Who do you fly?
