Q&A on the News
Q: In a recent AJC article about more fliers showing up to airports carrying guns or packing them in their carry-on baggage, no mention was made of any penalties the fliers face, other than having their guns confiscated. Is that the only penalty? If not, what is the sequence of events that takes place once a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officer detects a gun?
—Michelle Hutchinson, Marietta
A: When officers find a firearm in a carry-on bag, they alert airport police, Jon Allen, the TSA spokesman in Atlanta, told Q&A on the News in an email. Police will take possession of the firearm and make the determination, based on local and state laws of where the airport is located, whether the person will face criminal charges (citation or arrest). "In addition to the law enforcement referral, individuals who bring firearms to a checkpoint face a civil penalty from the TSA," Allen wrote. Those include a variety of fines, based on the weapon. People with firearms in their carry-on baggage could face a fine of more than $7,500, and last year, TSA assessed more than $1.8 million in penalties for firearms discovered at security checkpoints, he wrote. "Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are properly packaged and declared. Firearms must be unloaded, packed in a hard-side case, locked and packed separately from ammunition," according to the TSA. The TSA discovered 1,556 firearms at checkpoints nationally in 2012, and through July 31, agents had found 65 firearms at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport this year.
Andy Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or email q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
