The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has specific rules and regulations when it comes to transporting firearms on planes. Their website says, “Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded, packed in a hard-side case, locked, and packed separately from ammunition. Ammunition must be in its original box and can be packed inside the hard-side case, next to the firearm. Even if the box of ammunition is not full, the bullets must be in their original case. Then the case with the firearm should be brought to the airline check-in counter and the airline representative is informed that the passenger wants to travel with the gun. Firearms are transported inside checked baggage and are placed in the belly of the aircraft so that nobody has access to them during the flight.”
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website. Unfortunately, some of the flying public either doesn’t know or care. In 2021 alone, TSA officers detected 5,972 firearms in carry-on and personal bags at U.S.-based airport security checkpoints. That’s nearly 17 per day. In 2020, there were “only” 3,257 firearms discovered, but that was an “off” year due to the pandemic. Still, in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, there were 4,432 detected. In fact, in every year since 2008, more and more firearms have been discovered at TSA security checkpoints.
Individuals who bring weapons to a checkpoint are subject to federal civil penalties of up to $13,900. The complete list of penalties is posted online. In addition to civil penalties, individuals who violate rules regarding traveling with firearms can potentially have their Trusted Traveler status and TSA PreCheck® expedited screening benefits revoked for a period of time.
We’ve already posted a few instances regarding what happened “behind the scenes” in situations around travel-related facilities:
- The woman who sued Disney because of the injury she sustained at their theme park
- When the family of the man who passed away after riding a ride at Universal Studios brought a lawsuit against the theme park
- The woman who was refused entry to her plane because she appeared to be inebriated, and then fled from airport police officers
So what DOES happen “behind the scenes” if someone is caught with a gun in their carry-on? And what about when someone is found to have a gun in their bag, but it appears to be a genuine mistake?
That’s exactly what happened in October 2021, when a passenger scheduled to fly out of La Crosse Regional Airport (LSE) was discovered to have a loaded handgun in his backpack when it went through X-ray. Here are the details of what happened to him, as it was happening (yay, police body cams!), and an explanation of the different ways it can be handled by the TSA, depending on individual circumstances.
It was a happy ending for “Mr. Passenger.” Each situation is, of course, different. Sometimes very different (*cough* THIS GUY *cough*). But it’s still interesting to have a behind-the-scenes view of what “could” happen if you’re caught with a gun at the TSA checkpoint.
Feature Image: Amazon.com
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