“Getaway Ammunition”

Epidemic of Stupidity

Meanwhile, a recent report by Seattle’s KOMO News — the local ABC affiliate — revealed what appears to have been an outbreak of gross stupidity among travelers using Seattle-Tacoma International Airport this year, and it’s contagious.

As of late October, TSA screeners had confiscated 101 firearms from people who didn’t check their carry-on bags before heading to the airport. A lot of these guns were loaded. During the same period last year, the score was 97 confiscated guns. This is a big oops!

At the time of the report, national data said more than 5,600 firearms had been “detected” at U.S. airports, and a whopping 82% of them were loaded. This is literally criminal negligence, because getting stopped at a security checkpoint with a gun can land people in court, facing fines and criminal penalties.

When I used to travel regularly with a firearm, the first and last thing I checked was the whereabouts of my gun. It was always unloaded and in a locked case, inside of my checked luggage. To make sure of this, my carry-on bags were a small briefcase and camera case, and before leaving home, and again when arriving at the airport, I visually checked again to make certain the locked gun case was where it belonged.

After so many years, and lots of highly publicized reports about dumb people with guns in their bags, there is no good excuse for having a firearm in a carry-on bag. Bottom line: Taking five extra minutes to check can save yourself a world of grief.

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