Security screeners have to check for dangerous things in people's luggage, guns among them, and more than ten years after 9/11, people are trying to get guns through security more often, according to the Associated Press. Passengers are trying to get through security with guns in their carry-on bags, purses, and pockets, even in their boots.
In the first half of the year, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screeners found 894 guns on passengers or in their carry-on bags. This marks a 30 percent increase over the same period of time last year. In May, the TSA set a record for the most guns seized in one week, with 64, 45 of which were loaded, and 15 with bullets in the chambers. That marked an increase of 30 percent over the previous record of 50 guns, which had been set only two weeks earlier.
In 2012, the TSA found 1,549 firearms on passengers during the screening process, an increase of 17 percent from last year.
Prior to 2011, the TSA didn't keep statistics on the number of guns that were intercepted during the screening process, according to David Castelveter, a spokesman for the TSA.
The TSA agency doesn't believe these people are terrorists, but also can't explain why so many passengers are trying to board planes with guns, either. According to Castelveter, the most common excuse passengers provide is, 'I forgot it was there.'
"We don't analyze the behavioral traits of people who carry weapons," Castelveter said. "We're looking for terrorists.
"But sometimes you have to scratch your head and say, 'Why?'" he continued.
Many of the passengers trying to get weapons through the security screeners get arrested, but not all of them. It depends on the gun laws for the area where the airport is located. If the state or jurisdiction has more tolerant gun laws, the screeners may hand the gun back to the passengers and recommend they lock it in their car or another safe location.
Gun owners are so used to carrying concealed weapons that it's no different to them than carrying keys or their wallets, according to Jimmy Taylor, a sociology professor at Ohio State University and the author of books on gun culture. Bearing that in mind, Taylor still finds it hard to believe that airline passengers forget they're carrying guns.
"My wife and I check on things like eye drops and Chapstick to see if we're allowed to take them on a plane, so it's a little difficult to imagine that you aren't checking the policies about your loaded firearm before you get to the airport," he added.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
