ARLINGTON, Va. – Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport intercepted a fourth firearm in seven days at a checkpoint on Thursday, April 11. The four guns were caught on April 5, 7, 8 and 11.
Yesterday, an Edgewater, Md., woman was stopped with a 9mm handgun loaded with seven bullets. She told officials that she was cleaning and placed the firearm into the small food bag that she was planning to take to the airport and forgot the gun was inside. The firearm took up about half of her lunch sack.
In all four instances of firearms caught this past week, the guns were detected as the individuals entered the security checkpoint. The X-ray unit alerted TSA to take a closer look inside the carry-on bags. The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Police confiscated the guns and cited each person on a weapons charge. TSA does not confiscate firearms, law enforcement does.
Guns are not permitted through the security checkpoint and the travelers each face a stiff financial civil penalty from TSA. The penalty for carrying weapons can reach a maximum of $15,000.
“Bringing a gun to one of our checkpoints is something that we take very seriously,” said John Busch, TSA’s Federal Security Director for the airport. “It is troubling to see four guns within a week’s time. Responsible gun owners know where their firearms are at all times and this trend is very concerning. All of our recent incidents involved travelers who said, ‘I forgot it was in the bag,’ which means they were carelessly and unwittingly carting a loaded, unsecured weapon with them. This is unacceptable and can have grave consequences in our security checkpoints. I want everyone to know that traveling with a firearm is allowed but only if done the right way. It must be unloaded and packed properly as checked baggage and declared to the airline at the ticket counter. I urge travelers to know the contents of their carry-on bags to ensure that they have nothing prohibited or illegal.”
TSA has details on how to properly travel with a firearm posted on its website.
Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality and gun owners have a duty to ensure they are not violating any local firearm laws. Additionally, contacting the respective airline could reveal any additional requirements for traveling with firearms and ammunition.
Bringing a firearm to an airport checkpoint carries a federal civil penalty because TSA reserves the right to issue a civil penalty to travelers who have guns and gun parts with them at a checkpoint. Civil penalties for bringing a gun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating circumstances. This applies to travelers with or without concealed gun carry permits because a concealed carry permit does not allow a firearm to be carried onto an airplane. The complete list of civil penalties is posted online. Additionally, if a traveler with a gun is a member of TSA PreCheck®, that individual will lose their TSA PreCheck privileges.
Last year, 6,735 firearms were caught at airport security checkpoints nationwide and 93 percent were loaded.
Unsure if an item should be packed in a carry-on bag, checked bag, either or neither? Download the free myTSA app, which has a handy “What can I bring?” feature that allows you to type in the item to find out if it can fly. Or ask on Twitter or Facebook Messenger at @AskTSA. Travelers may send a question by texting “Travel” to AskTSA (275-872).