Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links below. This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents at Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) confiscated two loaded handguns on consecutive days this week. Both items were detected and handled before there was any danger to other passengers. This comes after I wrote about a smoke bomb and a hand grenade that were found last week at Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) (more here).
REMEMBER: Prepare, Pack & Declare! Leaving a #firearm in a carry-on bag could cost you nearly $15k, and you will lose TSA PreCheck® eligibility for up to 5 years.
Proper packaging info ⬇️: pic.twitter.com/2pz4yfcHDu
— TSA (@TSA) June 28, 2024
On Wednesday, TSA agents discovered a loaded .22 caliber handgun in a woman’s purse. The Northampton County, PA resident was arrested by police after the find. She claimed that she rarely uses the purse it was inside of and meant to give it to her husband before she and her daughter arrived at the airport, but she forgot to hand it off. The TSA officer saw the handgun while viewing the checkpoint’s X-ray machine. Port Authority Police arrested her at the Terminal B checkpoint and also escorted her daughter to the police station.
The woman now faces a federal financial civil penalty of up to $15,000 for bringing a gun to a security checkpoint in addition to her arrest. Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, said:
This was a very good catch on the part of our officers to detect such a small handgun. When individuals bring their firearms to our checkpoints, it represents a risk to everyone in the area and slows down the checkpoint screening process for everyone. This woman did not have a permit to carry the firearm. With that said, even individuals with a permit are not permitted to carry their firearm through a checkpoint. Our officers are good at their jobs and even with sky-high checkpoint volume, they continue to remain vigilant in screening individuals who are arriving at our checkpoints. I commend our officers on their good catch in preventing an individual from boarding a plane with a loaded firearm.”
In a separate incident on June 20th, TSA agents found a .45 caliber firearm in a traveler’s book bag. While his bag was being scanned, the agent noticed the weapon in the X-ray machine at Terminal A. Port Authority Police came to the checkpoint and escorted the man out of the airport. He was not arrested and allowed to return because he had a permit to carry the firearm in New Jersey, but he did miss his flight.
While he was not arrested, he also faces a civil fine of up to $15,000 for the incident. Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, commented:
The busy summer travel period is in full swing, and we don’t need travelers bringing their firearms to our checkpoints. When individuals bring their firearms to our checkpoints, it represents a risk to everyone in the area and slows down the checkpoint screening process for everyone. Even individuals with a permit are not permitted to carry their firearm through a checkpoint. Our officers are good at their jobs and even with sky-high checkpoint volume, they remain alert and vigilant in screening individuals who are arriving at our checkpoints. I commend our officers on their good catch in preventing an individual from boarding a plane with a loaded firearm.”
Anthony’s Take: Intentional or not, leave the firearms at home. I can’t imagine not knowing that I had a gun in my bag and then trying to get through airport security with it.
(Featured Image Credit: TSA.)
User Generated Content Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.
Advertiser & Editorial Disclosure: The Bulkhead Seat earns an affiliate commission for anyone approved through the links above This compensation may impact how and where links appear on this site. We work to provide the best publicly available offers to our readers. We frequently update them, but this site does not include all available offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed, or approved by any of these entities.
3 comments
Should be a mandatory fine fine of $15,000. Not “up to” $15,000.
If you “Don’t know” where your gun is at all times, you forfeit your rights, and you are not trustworthy enough to be allowed to have a gun
The problem is that the current penalties are chicken$#!t. Losing PreCheck for 5 years? Really? How about a sliding scale financial penalty of $5,000 – $500,000 depending on net worth, 10 years on the no-fly list, and a year in prison, all mandatory? People’s memories would suddenly drastically improve. It’s not a coincidence that Turkey and Israel don’t have this problem