Stories about people who inadvertently attempt to carry a firearm in a carry-on bag through the TSA checkpoints used to be big news. But it happens so frequently that it's now a ho-hum non-story.
What happens to those people? Anecdotes tell us that police are brought in, the FBI is contacted, and those two agencies typically declare they won't arrest or prosecute. The individual is either told to take the gun out to their vehicle or the gun is taken into possession by the police for safe keeping.
But there's also the TSA. They can assess a huge fine. So it was interesting to see some numbers in this WaPo story. TSA goes for guns and money:
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) levied civil penalties of approximately $1.45 million against travelers who violated firearms regulations at airports around the country last year, records show.
The TSA filed more than 4,000 actions against gun-carrying travelers in 2017, according to data obtained through a request made under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA.)
If my math is correct, that came to $362.50 per errant gun carrier. But that would be an average, and if correct, the person I heard about who was tagged with a $1,400 fine got a raw deal.
More from the article:
Many of the civil claims arose from guns taken into a handful of U.S. airports that are among the busiest hubs and in the South or West.
Best to stay mindful of the firearm carry laws.
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2:22 PM 10/23/2018
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