Bloomberg Businessweek - USA (2019-10-14)

◼ POLITICS Bloomberg Businessweek October 14, 2019

42

ILLUSTRATION BY THOMAS COLLIGAN

THEBOTTOMLINE TheMorenaleadershipcontesthaslittle

bearingonAMLO’sagendabutmaygreatlyaffecttheparty’sability

toshapeMexico’sfuture.

● Morepermissivelawshaveledtoa risein TSAfirearmseizures

No,YouStillCan’tBringYourGunonaPlane

passengersscreenedincreased22%inthesame

period.Seizuressofarthisyeararerunningclose

to 2018 levels.

Puttinga gunincheckedbaggageis legalaslong

asit’semptyofbulletsandproperlysecured.But

it’sillegaltocarrya gunintoa plane’scabin,even

unloaded.If anagentfindsa firearmina carry-on,

they’llstopthescreeninglineandcalllocalpolice.

Manyoffenders,TSAofficialssay,havesimplyfor-

gottentheirgunis there.

Thefrequencyofgunsbeingbroughttosecu-

ritycheckpointshashamperedeffortstocheck

travelersquickly.“Assumingthatallthosepeople

TheTransportationSecurityAdministrationhas

gonetogreatlengthstogetthemessagethrough

toAtlantaairportpassengers:Don’tbringyourgun

throughsecurity.It’splasteredsignsoncheckpoint

walls.It’sblaredannouncementsoverloudspeakers.

It’sthrowna warninguponvideoscreensforpas-

sengerstostareatwhiletheywaitinline.

Andyet, 298 firearmswereseizedatHartsfield-

JacksonAtlantaInternational’ssecuritycheck-

pointsin2018,themostatanyU.S.airportthat

year.Accordingtoa BloombergGovernmentanal-

ysisofTSArecords,gunseizurestherehavetri-

pledsince2014,whenthen-GovernorNathanDeal

signeda lawthatallowedGeorgianstocarrya fire-

arminmoreplaces.Evenasa percentageofthe

almost 26 millionpassengerswhopassedthrough

securitytherelastyear,thenumberofgunseizures

putHartsfield-Jacksonflyersina virtualtiewith

thoseatAustin-BergstromInternationalAirportin

Texasforworst-offenderstatusamongthenation’s

30 largest airports.

Overall, the 10 major airports with the highest

gun seizure rates are in states that, like Georgia

and Texas, either don’t require a permit to carry

a concealed weapon or require officials to issue

a permit to all law-abiding applicants, while 8

of the 10 with the lowest rates are in states that

allow the government more discretion to deny

permits, according to an analysis of National

Rifle Association data. Nationwide, the number

of guns confiscated at TSA checkpoints jumped

about 92% from 2014 to 2018; the number of

in effect using a taxpayer-financed position as a

party launching pad. (Mexican party leaders tra-

ditionally haven’t held other elected offices at the

same time.) The infighting caused AMLO to issue

a stern warning. “It’s very unfortunate that par-

ties that emerge to defend just causes end up very

badly,” he said at a daily news conference in August.

“If Morena, the party that I helped to found, rots,

not only would I resign from it, but I would ask that

it change its name, because that’s the name that

gave us the opportunity to bring about the fourth

transformation in the public life of this country,

and it must not be stained.”

The success of whoever leads the party will

be important to maintain the two-thirds major-

ity Morena and its allies have achieved in the

lower house, the threshold to make constitutional

changes, says Ortiz, the TV political analyst. “That’s

the trial by fire that will determine the second half

of AMLO’s presidency and set the stage for the next

presidential election in 2024,” she says. “That’s why

these disputes and fights within the party are so

strong.” �Eric Martin