TSA on track to confiscate record number of firearms
Firearm catches could eclipse the current full year-record of 5,972 in 2021
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have stopped over 3,000 firearms from passing through security checkpoints within the first six months of 2022.
On average, agents have stopped 17 firearms at checkpoints each day, according to TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein. At this rate, the number of intercepted firearms for the year could even outpace 2021's record.
"If that pace continues, firearm catches will eclipse the current full year-record of 5,972 firearms intercepted at the nation’s checkpoints in 2021," the TSA announced Tuesday.
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In fact, the TSA announced that several individuals were stopped with guns at security checkpoints over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.
A Pennsylvania man tried to bring a loaded handgun onto a flight at Harrisburg International Airport on Monday. The gun was loaded with six bullets, according to the TSA.
Just days before, officers stopped a handgun from making its way past security at Dane County Regional Airport in Wisconsin and prevented another loaded handgun from getting on board a plane at Newark Liberty International Airport.
Even before the holiday kicked off, the TSA and Port Authority Police (PAPD) announced concerns about "the frequency that they are seeing travelers carry ammunition and handguns to security checkpoints at Newark Liberty International Airport," most of which were found to be loaded, according to the TSA.
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New Jersey TSA Federal Security Director Thomas Carter said in a statement that guns and ammunition are "never allowed to pass through a security checkpoint to be carried onto a flight, even if a traveler has a concealed carry permit."
Guns and ammunition need to be packed properly in checked baggage and declared to the airline, Carter said.
The TSA can issue civil penalties to travelers, even those with concealed gun carry permits, who bring weapons with them to checkpoints, according to the agency.
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"Civil penalties for bringing a handgun into a checkpoint can stretch into thousands of dollars, depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances," the TSA said.