Harsher penalties for guns at airports
The Transportation Security Administration is reporting statistics that reflect the scary fact that a greater percentage of the air-traveling public is toting guns. Weapons are being found in carry-on bags at airports, and a severe crackdown is warranted.
The surge reported by the TSA comes amid record-low numbers of travelers passing through airports after the coronavirus pandemic effectively stalled nonessential travel in 2020. Whether the TSA is screening more effectively or whether more passengers are attempting to bring firearms onto planes isn’t clear.
What is clear, however, is that a significant swath of the U.S. population believes itself to be above the law.
Such offenders should face a federally mandated suspension of their concealed carry license on first offense.
TSA officers found 3,257 firearms in passengers’ carry-on bags in total, the majority of which were loaded. That’s a lower number than in 2019 (4,432 firearms found), but within the context of a drastic drop in air travel, it’s an upward trend.
Overall, the TSA reported twice as many firearms per million passengers screened in 2020, as compared with 2019.
The monetary penalties for packing a gun in a carry-on are steep, beginning at $1,500 for an unloaded firearm and $3,000 if it’s loaded, with the worst offenses being referred for criminal prosecution. But these extreme cases are rare, and it clearly is not deterrent enough to stop the thousands of Americans who are attempting to bring a gun through security checkpoints.
Passengers who think they can pull one over on the TSA are putting others at risk in addition to breaking the law. There is no conceivable reason why someone would need a firearm on an aircraft, and discharging such a weapon could lead to disaster in the pressurized environment. Even sky marshals use only special ammunition and stun guns for this reason.
It is legal to travel with a gun by airline if the gun is stored properly in checked baggage. The TSA has clearly posted guidelines on how to do so.
Long-running reports of the TSA’s ineffectiveness at identifying guns and explosives imply that for every gun the agency identifies, many more actually do make it through security checkpoints and wind up on an aircraft within easy reach. The agency’s numbers have been improving of late, but a more than 50% failure rate is a low benchmark to beat. Still, the agency deserves some credit for improving over the years — 2020 saw its highest catch rate in its 19-year history.
The most common excuse for passengers caught with weapons is that they “forgot” that they had a gun on their person when passing through security. Oftentimes, they are still permitted to fly once the firearm is confiscated or placed in checked baggage. This is indefensible. Anyone who treats a weapon of deadly force so casually should be reminded of the gravity of such a responsibility through a license suspension in addition to the monetary penalty.
The U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to bear arms — but not on a plane. A mandated temporary suspension of a concealed carry license would send the right message.