2019-10-14 Bloomberg Businessweek-Europe Edition

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek October 14, 2019

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THEBOTTOMLINE WhiletheTSA’srecordofdetectingthreats

isn’tpristine,forgetfulgunownersaresuckingupresourcesat

airportsecuritycheckpointsanddelayingtravelers.

whoarecaughtwitha firearmaren’tterrorists,
that’sa hugedistractionfromthemissionofTSA
tokeepterroristsoffplanes,”saysJohnPistole,a
formerTSAadministratorwho’snowpresident
ofAndersonUniversityinIndiana.TSAagents
haltedscreeningprocessesafterdetectingguns
incarry-onbagsmorethan4,200timesin2018,a
record.Moreseizedgunsthaneverarealsoloaded:
about86%ofthoseconfiscatedlastyear.Morethan
a thirdhada bulletchambered,creatingtherisk
theguncouldgooffaccidentallyata checkpoint
orinsidea plane.
Theincrease“hasnothingtodowiththepop-
ulationoftravelers,”saysDavidChipman,senior
policyadviseratGiffords,a gunviolencepreven-
tiongroup,anda formerU.S.BureauofAlcohol,
Tobacco,FirearmsandExplosivesspecialagent.“It
haseverythingtodowiththefrequencyofpeople
carryinggunsoutsidetheirhome.”
Asofthemid-1980sonlya handfulofstatesoper-
atedunderso-calledshall-issueconcealedcarry
permitlaws. Todaymorethan 40 states have
passedsuchlawsorallowconcealedcarrywith
nopermit.Mostofthestateswhoseairportshave
thehighestratesofTSAseizures—Georgia,North
Carolina,Utah,andothers—havepassedadditional
lawsexpandingfirearm-carryrightsinrecentyears,
includingthosethatallowgunsinbars,churches,
buses,schools,andcourtrooms.
InTexas,hometothreeofthetopsixairports
forgunsseizedper100,000passengers,thosewith
theproperlicensehavebeenallowedtoopenly
carrytheirhandgunsina hiporshoulderholster
since2015.Sincethen,thenumberofseizures
atDallas’sDFWAirport,a keyhubforAmerican
Airlines,hasincreased43%.Meanwhile, 33 million
peoplepassedthroughsecuritylastyearatJohn
F.Kennedy International Airport in New York,
which has some of the strictest gun laws in the
country. The number of guns seized: two.
Knowing where your gun is at all times is a cru-
cial lesson taught in firearm safety classes, says
Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment
Foundation, a gun-rights group. Keeping your fire-
arm loaded when it’s not in your control is “care-
less,” says Dave Workman, an editor at the Second
Amendment Foundation’s online publication,
TheGunMag.com. “That has always just stunned
me that people do that.”
Even though Democrats said gun control would
be a priority after Congress’s return from its summer
recess, no legislation related to guns in airports has
been introduced. And with Democrats attempting to
balance a Trump impeachment inquiry with legisla-
tion on drug pricing and trade, it’s unlikely any bills

will be offered before the end of the year. At the state

level, there weren’t any bills relating to TSA check-

points and firearms as of mid-September, accord-

ing to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman

Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi,

says that while he supports more technology

upgrades to help the TSA screen for weapons, for

now he’s satisfied the agency is confiscating fire-

arms. “I see it as a positive in a sense that we are

catching the people, even if we catch it more,” he

says. And yet the agency has struggled for years to

detect bombs and weapons in covert tests. In 2015

agents failed to uncover a weapon in 95% of inter-

nal tests, according to data leaked to ABC News.

Theagencyhasimproveditsratesincethen,act-

ingDeputyAdministratorPatriciaCogswelltold

reportersonSept.11 following a Senate oversight

hearing. She declined to share its current fail rate.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske says the agency

is monitoring the rise in seizures and will consider

potential action if the issue continues to escalate

over the next year.

Tim Peek, who heads Atlanta’s airport police

team, suggests airlines should offer more detailed

gun policy reminders to customers when they’re

buying plane tickets. “Ultimately it’s not our goal

to have to deal with it,” he says. �Courtney Rozen

and Michaela Ross

Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg News

parent Bloomberg LP, is a donor to groups that sup-

port gun safety, including Everytown for Gun Safety.

Put Your Guns Where I Can See Them

Firearms seized per million passengers at the 30 top U.S. airports by traveler volume

Concealedcarry

restrictions:

◼None

◼Permitautomatically

granted

◼Some or strict permit

requirements

Fewer

than 2

4 to 6

More

than 10

DATA : TS A

● From 2014 to

2018, the number of

guns confiscated

at TSA checkpoints

jumped about

92%