Man Passes Through Reagan Checkpoint With Gun...

[stevie_d_64]

http://www.myfoxdc.com/myfox/pages/News ... geId=3.2.1

Why, o why, would you want to alert "officials" to something they didn't catch in this case???

Honesty is the best policy, but in this case, even though I would never be in a situation like this, I would not have said a thing...

[ScubaSigGuy]

How is that only a misdemeanor?

[jimlongley]

I hate to tell you this, but when I was with TSA we used to run unannounced tests on each other, trying to sneak various things through the checkpoints. I got a .380 through 7 out of 10 checkpoints at one airport.

[M9FAN]

Why, o why, would you want to alert "officials" to something they didn't catch in this case???

Honesty is the best policy, but in this case, even though I would never be in a situation like this, I would not have said a thing...

My thoughts exactly!

[seamusTX]

Once the guy realized he had a firearm inside the secure area, he had four options:

• Leave immediately.
• Continue his trip and take a chance on felony prosecution.
• Dump the weapon.
• Turn himself in and hope for the best.

The problem with leaving immediately is that he would not get where he was going, and most likely lose the airfare that he had paid.

- Jim

[Lodge2004]

Once the guy realized he had a firearm inside the secure area, he had four options:

• Leave immediately.
• Continue his trip and take a chance on felony prosecution.
• Dump the weapon.
• Turn himself in and hope for the best.

The problem with leaving immediately is that he would not get where he was going, and most likely lose the airfare that he had paid.

- Jim

I'd consider the lost airfare as a "lesson learned" fee and leave immediately. Although I do not travel often (couple times per year), I am quite paranoid about clearing security. One a trip to Detroit a couple of years ago I forgot my pocket knife and the security guy made a big scene by screaming out - "WE HAVE A WEAPON!!!" It was not a positive experience. I can imagine he would have really flipped out if it had been a firearm.

[ScubaSigGuy]

At what point does the charge change from a misdemeanor to a felony? I thought that entering the secured area of any airport was federal jurisdiction and would result in felony charges. Of course ICBW.

[seamusTX]

I think it is a federal felony to carry weapons through airport security. Maybe the gave him a break because it was unintentional.

- JIm

[Charles L. Cotton]

Carrying a weapon into the secured area of an airport is prosecuted under state law. TSA will issue a civil fine that can run up to $15,000, if I recall correctly. They will also negotiate them down under certain circumstances, but $1,500 is the lowest I've heard.

Chas.

[Paladin]

"We know this is not a systemic problem in that our testing indicates TSOs [Transportation Security Officers] have a very high success rate at finding firearms. Given the high degree of reliability that our TSOs can find even carefully concealed firearms, we are evaluating every aspect of this incident," White said

I forget what the TSA discovery rates on firearms are, but it's no where near 100%, and White knows it. The TSA runs "tests" regularly to see if screeners pick up prohibited items like guns and bombs. These detection rates are not widely published, but well known to the TSA.

It's a game they're playing... the TSA pretends to have iron clad security... and they hope the public and the terrorists believe it.

[tomc]

This may have only been a misdemeanor if the individual was only at, but not through the security checkpoint. Virginia is one of the few states that prohibit concealed firearms anywhere in the airport terminal unless it is secured in baggage ready to be checked. This applies when you just walk in from the parking lot.

[QB]

The luggage I use to travel when I'm also carrying my guns is NEVER used when I travel by air. I do this because I don't want to have any problems in case there's a loose bullet or something in the suitcase that I didn't see why emptying it from my trip.

WELL...................for some unknown reason one trip I used a carry on that I had just used for a trip to see my parents. I had carried a SIG P225 with me and some extra loaded mags. Lo and behold when I was going through security the guy checking the bags stopped and was staring at his screen. I honestly thought he was looking at something in the bag that belonged to the guy in front of me. When he called for the police, I was beginning to get a sick feeling in my stomach. Then they identified a bag and asked whose it was and it was mine. A poice lady came over and started searching the bag. She asked if I had a gun in it and I said well I do shoot guns and I did have a gun in it last weekend but there's no gun in it now. She kept searching and was getting mad and said, "where are you hiding it"? I was really shaking by then. Turns out that a loaded magazine had slipped under the bottom liner of the bag and that's what she was looking for. She took it out and had the bag re-xrayed.

The she actually got pretty nice and told me she'd take me to the American counter so that they could deal with it. She thought they'd let me unload it, leave the ammo there and put the mag in my carry on. Well, American confiscated the mag and ammo and so as to not miss my flight I said "what the heck" and went on to DC. Needless to say I was a nervous wreck because I really thought they were going to cart me off.

When I returned to Dallas I was mad that they had kept my mag (they cost about $50 at the time) so I figured I'd go ask for it back. I went to the American counter and told them what happened and asked for my mag back. The guy said they turn them in to "security". About that time a female manager came out holding the loaded mag in her hand. She said she didn't know why they still had it at the counter area but that she couldn't give it to me since it had ammo in it. I asked if I could unload it and leave the ammo with her and take my mag. She said they don't normally do that (like how many times has this happened????) but in the end she gave me a stern lecture and let me take my unloaded mag.

I can tell you right now that I will NEVER NEVER NEVER use one of my "non-airport" bags when traveling by air again (not that I know why I did in that instance). Call me paranoid but I was really scared and was worried about being detained and then fired from my job for missing my flight due to a security infraction, etc.......

[jimlongley]

She said they don't normally do that (like how many times has this happened????) but in the end she gave me a stern lecture and let me take my unloaded mag.

I assume this happened before TSA took over?

Before TSA took over I was traveling somewhere and forgot to take my long time companion Camillus knife issued to me by the phone company in 1970 out of my pocket, and the checkpoint noticed it (they were a lot less professional than TSA) and gave me the option of "surrendering" or taking it outside security. I asked them if they could hold it for me there, as I was on a day trip and would be back that evening and could come by and claim it. The checkpoint security supervisor agreed, something that wouldn't happen with TSA.

I returned later, with a different shift on, and asked them to return my knife, which raised a lot of eyebrows, and they told me that they didn't do any such thing. I finally persuaded them to look in the drawer where I had seen my knife placed, with my business card tucked into the bail, right where I had put it. They reluctantly escorted me to the exit and returned my knife to me.

Wouldn't happen under TSA.

[stevie_d_64]

Can't you just feel the love???

Man, don't you feel so much better being so trusted by your government...

[frankie_the_yankee]

Way back before 9/11, I was on a business trip from RI to Buffalo, NY. The trip was arranged by one of our company directors who would also be travelling with me and two others. He set it up for a limo to pick us up from our RI facility and drive us to Logan Airport which located in Boston, MA.

At the time I had a RI CHL and carried all the time. But as I knew I'd be making the trip and could not legally carry in Buffalo, I left my SP101 home that day.

So there I am that afternoon in the metal detector line at Logan. My associates had already gone through. I put my carryon bag on the conveyor belt and proceed to go through my little "pre-metal detector" ritual. This consisted of going through all of my pockets and removing pretty much everything (keys, change, cellphone, etc.) and dumping it all into one of those little baskets that you hand to the screener.

And I stick my right hand into my jacket pocket and immediately find a speedloader with 5 rounds of Federal Hydrashoks in it. Holy Smoke! Now what do I do?

Remember, I'm next up in line, and my associates have already gone through, and my carryon was going through the xray machine.

Note also that possession of handgun ammo in MA without either an FOID card or a MA LTC was illegal all by itself.

I thought of simply running away, but how would I explain that later?

Finally, I just went through all of my pockets again and took EVERYTHING out. I mean a pack of gum (the aluminum foil), my gold ring, my neckchain, and every little bit of metal that wasn't part of my clothing. I would have pulled the rivets from my jeans if I could have.

As I'm putting all this extra stuff in the basket, the screener said something like, "Hey. You don't have to do all that. It's not that sensitive." I just ignored him until I was finished. Then I took a deep breath and went through the metal detector loop in one stride, speedloader and all.

Thankfully, it didn't make a sound.

By then my party had gotten a table at the food court. As I found them and sat down, one of them said, "Hey Frank. You feeling all right? You don't look so good." I was soaked with sweat and white as a sheet.

When I got to Buffalo, I discretely threw the speedloader in the trash the first chance I got.