TSA confiscates record number of guns in 2021

[AlexanderA]

This is the America I want
TSA Agent at scanner:
“Ma’am, this Colt 1911 cannot go into the cabin of the aircraft. Instead, TSA will secure it in our explosive lockbox in the luggage hold. When you get to your destination, report to the TSA office and your Colt 1911 property will be handed over to you.”

This might work if the TSA was guaranteed to find 100% of all guns being attempted to be taken aboard aircraft. But that isn't the case. Some small percentage will sneak through. So, deterrence is a big part of this "security theater." There has to be a downside to being caught.

Considering the severity of airplane hijackings (which we saw on 9/11), this is not a matter to be taken lightly.

 

[daniel craig]

Five minutes ago I opened a box with a loaded Ruger 10/22 inside.
I emailed the seller: " FYI, you shipped this rifle with a loaded magazine inserted".
His reply: "Oh jeez, I could have sworn I emptied it and only tossed in empty mags, I am very sorry about that. Is there anything I need to do about this?"
Careless yes. Stupid?...........given that he asked "is there anything I need to do about this?" yeah, he's stupid. You can't undo the shipment fella.

Firearms are serious. Anyone that owns, uses or collects needs to remember just how serious.
I have zero sympathy for anyone caught at the airport with a firearm. It's been illegal for decades to have a firearm in your carryon. And there have been TSA requirements on firearms in checked luggage for decades as well. This ain't anything new.

If you don't know that TSA has rules for firearms, you likely shouldn't be allowed to leave home alone.

Agreed 100%

 

[Mosin77]

TSA misses stuff all the time. I fly a lot for work. My coworkers are always saying “I accidentally carried this knife/box cutter/etc through TSA.” Dealing with it on a weekly basis I don’t have a lot of sympathy for silly restrictions, and goons who often have nasty attitudes and love to hassle teenage girls and handicapped elderly just to prove how equal everyone supposedly is in their eyes. I have a great deal of sympathy for the harried traveler who overlooks his own legally-owned and legally-carried gun, either in his luggage or on his person. I’ve never done it but I can absolutely see how it might happen, either for the person who has never flown before/flies extremely infrequently, or the person who flies all the time and just forgets one day, in a hurry.

Instead of threatening passengers with arrest or an 11,000 dollar fine, how about saying “Sir, we’re very sorry but you can’t bring this on the plane. You’re welcome to go put it in your checked luggage. For your convenience we offer the appropriate sort of case and lock for $75 at our kiosk if you are interested.”

 

[Ru4real]

There has to be a downside to being caught.

“Caught” shouldn’t be taken lightly before private property is taken. Mistakes happen. The downside to being “caught” is a trial in a court of law with a verdict determined by a jury of your peers.

Or we could just circumvent the whole “innocent until proven guilty” thing and continue to let TSA steal in your America.

 

[toivo]

I know 2 people who did this. Both simply forgot they had their conceal carry weapon in their daily laptop bag when they had to take a random flight for work because normally they drove on business trips.

Our congressman did it back in the '90s.

https://apnews.com/article/8e768e7dfa63d9ccf1a3b02041649367

Must have been embarrassing explaining that one at the Democratic caucus ...

 

[Turkeytider]

I’m sorry , but in this day and age to waltz into an airport with a firearm , thinking a carry permit applies , is remarkably stupid.

We all know that there are stringent restrictions and that compliance is absolutely mandatory.

You know, just when I`m beginning to think that maybe stupidity isn`t as rampant as I thought it was........

 

[Dibbs]

I just hope those poor beleaguered TSA agents have all had enough time to give all the grannies from Topeka their cavity searches, also.

I'd simply hate to think they were doing anything even mildly productive, like, say, perhaps, preventing folks from foreign countries with viruses, to waltz off a plane, and sashay right out the airport's front door, right into the population, unchecked.

 

[AlexanderA]

Instead of threatening passengers with arrest or an 11,000 dollar fine, how about saying “Sir, we’re very sorry but you can’t bring this on the plane. You’re welcome to go put it in your checked luggage. For your convenience we offer the appropriate sort of case and lock for $75 at our kiosk if you are interested.”

Then there would be no real downside for trying, and a lot more people would be tempted to bring a gun aboard a plane. And as you yourself said, a percentage of these would get through. That includes genuine bad actors as well as those merely being negligent. Forfeiture of the gun is about as mild a penalty as could be imposed in this situation.

 

[Drail]

The TSA can not "confiscate" a gun - they are not authorized or allowed to touch a gun. If they see a gun they must call a police officer. TSA has NO law enforcement powers. Their badges are only for their political theater clown show. They act like cops and want you to believe that they are cops. They are not.

 

[dogtown tom]

.....Instead of threatening passengers with arrest or an 11,000 dollar fine, how about saying “Sir, we’re very sorry but you can’t bring this on the plane. You’re welcome to go put it in your checked luggage. For your convenience we offer the appropriate sort of case and lock for $75 at our kiosk if you are interested.”

Really?
You think that will solve the problem of people bringing weapons and prohibited items on a plane?
It's a lack of caution, a lack of respect for the law and a very casual attitude to safety. Combine that with simple threats of enforcement and you will deal with that issue for decaeds....as we have.

If carrying a firearm or weapon onto an airplane is serious, then the consequences must be serious. A "do over" ain't serious.

 

[dogtown tom]

The TSA can not "confiscate" a gun - they are not authorized or allowed to touch a gun. If they see a gun they must call a police officer. TSA has NO law enforcement powers. Their badges are only for their political theater clown show. They act like cops and want you to believe that they are cops. They are not.

Not true. Federal Air Marshals are are part of TSA and definitely DO have law enforcement powers.

 

[cheoah]

TSA misses stuff all the time. I fly a lot for work. My coworkers are always saying “I accidentally carried this knife/box cutter/etc through TSA.” Dealing with it on a weekly basis I don’t have a lot of sympathy for silly restrictions, and goons who often have nasty attitudes and love to hassle teenage girls and handicapped elderly just to prove how equal everyone supposedly is in their eyes. I have a great deal of sympathy for the harried traveler who overlooks his own legally-owned and legally-carried gun, either in his luggage or on his person. I’ve never done it but I can absolutely see how it might happen, either for the person who has never flown before/flies extremely infrequently, or the person who flies all the time and just forgets one day, in a hurry.

Instead of threatening passengers with arrest or an 11,000 dollar fine, how about saying “Sir, we’re very sorry but you can’t bring this on the plane. You’re welcome to go put it in your checked luggage. For your convenience we offer the appropriate sort of case and lock for $75 at our kiosk if you are interested.”

x2!

I had this exact realization last year. I could never carry a gun accidentally into the airport, but I now accept how easy it could be for some people. I also travel a lot for work and the more you travel, the less special it is. Like everything repetitive, easy enough to run on autopilot. Anyway, the numbers of confiscated firearms makes the point.

I've been considering traveling with a pistol now, but I'm reluctant to complicate airport travel anymore than it is. I shoot with former LAPD guy at out club and he encouraged me to do it - no big deal. Locking case, present to ticket counter, ammo separate, etc. He has one of those law enforcement cards though, not a pedestrian CCP.

Also have a lot of sympathy for travelers too, and saw a mother brought to tears recently in the TSA line. Traveling alone with a couple of kids. People struggle with that whole deal and there are a lot of new gun owners now. Doesn't take much to buy one, so all kinds of people are gun owners, even clueless ones. I guess some of the same people who forget to remove their knife are prime candidates for an $11k fine.

Actually , my brother in law is a brilliant computer engineer. Smart AF. He's not only very high IQ, but is super capable with all the trades. Super above average guy, travels lots, and had a $400 benchmade confiscated that my sis gave him. He's one of these new firearm owners, bought 2020, very capable new gun owner. I could see him doing it. The $11k would not be a setback for him, though would piss him off. But he's got such a huge job and does more than anyone I know, manages all the scoring tech for the baseball league, all the rosters for the swim team, builds sets for church plays, and spends loads of time with his kids. Not a dumb guy, but I'm going to tell my sister today to watch out for him when they travel together lol. She def will not forget.

 

[Drail]

Federal Marshals are NOT "part of TSA".

 

[dogtown tom]

Federal Marshals are NOT "part of TSA".

Who said they were? RIF
"Federal AIR Marshal"
https://jobs.tsa.gov/law-enforcement

 

[Waveski]

Ah , Revive - a - Thread.

“Sir, we’re very sorry but you can’t bring this on the plane. You’re welcome to go put it in your checked luggage. For your convenience we offer the appropriate sort of case and lock for $75 at our kiosk if you are interested.”

Personally , I don't think this cuts it. Any responsible , conscientious person knows that firearms on airliners are strictly forbidden. Anyone who carries in public has the responsibility of being informed as to rules and regulations , and there are few restrictions more stringent than those of the airlines. Like it or not , that's the way it is. Anyone trying taking a gun on board is either very careless , extremely ignorant , or trying to get away with something. I think the appropriate response in such a situation is "Sir , you need to come with us so we can ask you a few questions. We will do our best to avoid having you miss your flight." Then it's time for a quick background check.

Heck , a cop would run your plate if he pulled you over for speeding.

 

[Insignificant bill]

I'm more in the camp of 50/50. 50% simply forgetting and 50% stupidity/ignorance. With the huge increase in forearm ownership by folks who never had a gun before, much less a handgun/CCW, odds are not everyone of those folks is a responsible gun owner. A 4473 is not exactly an intelligence test. Not every state where CWC is legal, requires one to know even the most basic of gun laws/safety. Several years back, on a fly-in fishing trip to Canada, I used a dufflebag that I had used earlier in the Spring on a turkey hunting trip. Got to the remote fly on cabin and discovered 2 turkey shells in the bottom under my stuff that I had forgotten were there. Luckily we weren't searched at the border. They got left there.



You want to change the law so that folks can carry concealed on a plane, or just that folks in general don't get scanned before getting on a plane? Every time I go thru the scanner at the airport, I am amazed at the bin by the metal/detector/scanner full of confiscated items. Things that anyone with half a brain knows are not permitted. As Ron White says over and over...."You can't fix Stupid!". Want to be an gun owner, then be responsible. Show the anti's we have more than half a brain and quit looking for an excuse for your own ineptness.

It just boggles ones mind. Even non gun owners know Airports are off limits for firearms. Lets see i am going to the airport to get on a plane. Pack my bags make sure nothing prohibited is in them.