In Georgia, state law allows citizens to carry military-style assault weapons – and all other guns – in the unsecured areas of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
Five years ago, I introduced the Airport Security Act (ASA) to protect airline passengers by allowing only law enforcement officers to carry guns in the unsecured areas of airports.
With recent reports of airline employees using planes to smuggle guns, TSA security failures to identify contraband and violent incidents at our nation’s airport, why would we allow everyday citizens to carry fully loaded military-style assault weapons meant for war into our most crowded buildings?
Shouldn’t we be working toward fewer guns in airports, not more?
Emboldened by Georgia’s “guns everywhere” law, a gun-rights advocate recently flaunted his right to carry by defiantly striding through Hartsfield-Jackson with an AR-15 assault rifle – the same weapon used to murder 26 people (mostly children) at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2013 – slung across his chest.
Hartsfield-Jackson, and other airports across the country, serve as the front door to our communities. They are the gateway to commerce throughout the world for millions of passengers who visit the U.S each year. It is not just Georgia’s front porch, but the world’s busiest airport, serving 100 million passengers each year, and our economic engine, responsible for more than 50,000 jobs and indirectly for thousands more.
Unfortunately, it’s also becoming the airport where you’re most likely to see someone carrying a fully loaded, semiautomatic assault rifle.
When Georgia lawmakers passed their permissive gun law, did they consider the possibility that 10 people, each armed with an assault rifle, may try to patrol the airport together? What impact would that spectacle have on business at the airport?
The man wielding the AR-15 knew that the mere sight of a heavily armed civilian patrolling the airport would create fear among airport visitors and workers, and he knew police were barred from questioning him. He pushed the limits, and you can guarantee others will try to do the same.
Because airports throughout the country run by a myriad of municipalities – cities, counties, regional authorities – and state laws vary – I’m offering a solution to provide one national standard. While I support Second Amendment rights, there should be limits. Just like limits to free speech – you can’t scream fire in a crowded movie theater – there should be limits on where you can carry firearms.
That’s why I’m re-introducing the Airport Security Act that would prohibit people other than law enforcement and Homeland Security from carrying guns – concealed or otherwise – in airport terminals, lobbies, baggage claim areas, ticket counters and outside in pick-up and drop-off areas.
Airports Council International – which promotes airport safety, security and efficiency across the globe – recently told officials at Hartsfield-Jackson: “There is no justification for permitting firearms at any airport.”
I agree. Our airports are the crown jewels of economic development. If our airports aren’t secure, our airplanes and communities are compromised. Let’s work together to find commonsense solutions instead of jeopardizing safety for the traveling public.
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