The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) recovered a loaded firearm at Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport in Pittston Township, Pennsylvania on August 15. Despite the owner admitting it was a mistake to security ahead of time, he faces a hefty penalty.
Trigger Warning
The unnamed man, who is a resident of Harveys Lake, was going through the security checkpoint with his carry-on bag being examined. The X-ray unit spotted a handgun, later identified as a .380 caliber, in the man's carry-on bag. The man's defense was that he forgot the gun was in his bag.
The gun was loaded with six bullets when the TSA recovered it. It wasn't known whether there was a safety lever on. TSA later turned the gun over to law enforcement officials.
According to the TSA, this is the third instance this year where a firearm was detected at the airport's checkpoint.
TSA Federal Security Director Karen Keys-Turner commented on the August 15 incident:
“Telling us that you forgot that you had a loaded gun with you is unacceptable. What that tells me is that this individual needs to be more responsible with regard to knowing where his firearm is at all times. Bringing loaded guns to checkpoints is a serious security violation and this individual can expect to receive a federal fine that will be in the thousands of dollars.”
About Fines And Gun Security
Civil fines for unlawful possession of a weapon can go as high as $15,000. A civil penalty is a form of restitution for a person or party's violation and typically involves paying a fee. The individual isn't expected to face jail time.
Firearms are permitted for air travel as long as they're emptied of ammunition and secured in a locked, hard-sided safe. The safe will have to be examined by the TSA to ensure the firearm is properly handled with care. The TSA has additional tips on traveling with firearms and ammunition here.
According to the TSA's What Can I Bring page, the only things associated with guns that are permitted on carry-on bags are holsters and scopes. Any real gun or ammunition needs to be properly stored in a checked bag.
Travelers that are also members of TSA PreCheck will get their PreCheck privileges revoked if they're guilty of improperly handling a firearm through security.
It was very fortunate that the loaded gun didn't cause any serious harm, and the individual certainly should be held accountable for the lack of awareness and responsibility. While it's hard for the TSA and the airports to prevent weapons from illegally being found in carry-on bags, going through security should be what every passenger has to properly prepare for.
Let us know what you think. Do you travel with firearms? And if so, how do you ensure they're always stored safely during security checkpoints? Share your thoughts in the comments section down below.
Comments (22)
Hang the son of a bithch. He might or not be someone that that will kill or terrorize my family.
Jane Smith
This drives me crazy. Apparently there is no accountability for these crimes. You always hear what the maximum penalty is but never actually was charged. This will not stop until there is an actual consequence. In some countries there may be some serious outcomes. Try this, if caught with a weapon, the weapon confiscated. In addition, the individual goes off to a mandatory 6 months jail/prison. No exceptions, never, no high priced attorneys, nothing. If there is a second offense the time served is doubled and so on.. There is NO DOUBT that the next time to the airport, he would know where the weapons was. It just a question of priorities.
TybeeDawg
They don’t do anything! I had a friend do this, local PD charged him with a misdemeanor which was dismissed and they returned his firearm to him. He was never fined and didn’t lose his TSA Pre. It’s a joke that is in no way funny.
michael sweig
No 380 cal has a safety. So fly private on a charter where you don’t deal with the TSA…
Blake
Never seen a .380 that didn't have a safety.
Ellie
"I forgot it was in there" - this excuse is along the lines of the old grade-school phrase, "The dog ate my homework." Right.
mordecai r. terwilliger
Firs
JD System your hyperbole is nauseating, "...time and time again." Source your information. The number of legally owned firearms by responsible gun owners might make you do might make you do better research. More guns means less crime except in democrap run paradises like Chicago. If gun control worked, BTW, Chicago would be safer than Mayberry.
Donald Smith
As much as luggage goes missing, maybe a rule change that would allow carry-on firearms is needed. Perhaps handing it over to the flight crew for stowage, or a TSA approved lock with key given to the crew might work.
MikeInPA
Uh, no. Put your weapon in a checked bag or leave the thing at home.
TendentiousD
TSA has a hard time "preventing firearms being found"? You forgot your dictionary in your luggage.
Gun-grabbers unite.
If America was truly free, 9/11 would never have happened. The worst would have been all 4 flights ending up like flight 93 (and THOSE passengers didn't even have firearms), crashing into the ground or water and the Pentagon and the twin towers and thousands of lives and billions of dollars would have been saved.
Gerd
Big smile! This could happen in USA!(:-))) everyone can carry gun, no matter he is able to carry.
Stupid enough „to forget“ when going thru security. Their weapons should be withdrawn for
ever AND send to prison for some years. So they will have time to consider how to handle fire arms!
David
I never understood this until I started carrying a gun. It’s a bit like wearing a ring; it’s easy to forget that you have it on your belt. I don’t think that forgetting one has it in one’s bag necessarily shows carelessness. If one is comfortable with guns and carrying them, it is a lot like another tool one may carry.
People I know who’ve traveled for work have been stopped by tsa because they have forgotten they have a screwdriver or utility knife in their bag. They’re used to carrying those items all the time. I’m the same fashion, a gun owner may be comfortable with carrying a gun and may forget it’s in his or her bag.
BruceH
- Your comment shows what is wrong in the US. Making the analogy between a screwdriver and a loaded gun is ridiculous at many levels, not the least of which is that a gun is not a tool unless you are in law enforcement. And even if it were, are you telling me that you keep your "tool" in your carry-on bag... that you keep your carry-on packed with this tool because you often have to catch a plane on such short notice that you don't have time to pack before you leave for the airport (which suggests that you must only use this specific tool on trips).
Give me a break. To claim you forgot it was there logically implies that, when packing for your trip, you "forgot" you can't carry a handgun (loaded!) in your carry-on... which, in turn, says you are not a responsible gun owner and should be fined to help you "remember" not to pack it next trip.
David
Sorry. “In” the same fashion.
Jay Scott
This is the exact flippant attitude toward guns that has me calling for a MAJOR update of our laws surrounding firearms. The 2A in no way restricts the using of common sense laws, rules and regulations to manage the carrying of weapons. Forgetting that big bottle of shampoo you tossed into the luggage when half asleep is much different than forgetting a loaded handgun. I do a triple check of my pockets and carry-on for any prohibited items every time I fly and I never carry a handgun with me. Have a handgun? Then you should know where it is at all times. No excuses.
Thomas E. Ace
This article ends with a dreadfully constructed sentence:
"While it's hard for the TSA and the airports to prevent weapons from illegally being found in carry-on bags, going through security should be what every passenger has to properly prepare for."
"illegally being found"--as if this were about staying within 4th Amendment guidelines.
JD System
So the reason for having a gun is personal protection, if what all the 2nd amendment folk are to be believed. And yet time after time at TSA checkpoints guns,often loaded, are discovered in carry on bags and the FIRST thing the person says is "uhh, I forgot I had it in there". So how in the name of Smith and Wesson can you justify having and carrying a gun when you do not even know where it is, or that it is on you or in your bag?
Israel Pineiro Jr
How do you forget a gun in your bag? Do you not feel the weight of it before you place your things in the bag? Bet he doesn't forget again after paying that fine.
TybeeDawg
It’s highly unlikely they will fine them. I don’t think they like managing all of the paperwork.
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