The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) released new statistics highlighting the shocking growth in gun finds at airports across the country. According to their numbers, nearly 1 passenger for every 100,000 or so screened tries to sneak a gun through instead of properly checking it. One airport, in particular, leads the pack by a huge margin.
You did it, Georgia. You finally did it. Yup, you landed top of the heap on something. In this case, it was for the most gun finds of any US airport in 2021. That’s right, the State of Georgia and specifically Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had more guns by a wide margin than any other US airport in 2021.
And 2021 was a record-breaking year for gun finds across the entire country with nearly 6,000 guns detected, up from ~3200 in 2020 and ~4400 in 2019, according to WTOP News.
According to the latest numbers released by the TSA, the total number of guns detected in the passenger screening area was 5,942 guns with 542 of them coming from Georgia and 507 of them directly from Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
Approximately 1 passenger out of every 97,999 passengers is trying to bring a gun through security and around 80% of them are loaded. Georgia doubles the national rates with 1 handgun found for every 40,470 passengers screened. Gulp.
Dallas Fort Worth’s Airport (DFW) came in second with a big haul of 317 weapons followed by Houston’s IAH with 245 guns.
Traveling with a firearm is completely doable, but travelers have to follow specific rules, and checking the firearm is a must. Failure to do so will result in criminal charges and a fine of over $13k.
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5 comments
I bet if there were nasty penalties that were universally enforced – like mandatory 20 year No-Fly-List membership as an absolute minimum – people would suddenly remember the guns they’re trying to bring aboard much more frequently. Currently there are simply no repercussions for a rich, powerful, or well-connected person caught trying to bring a gun on a flight. Hell, there was even a Congressman who got caught trying to bring a gun in by camouflaging it by packing it in his wheelchair. Of course, absolutely nothing happened to him.
1 in 100,000 is pretty low. It happens all the time, it’s pretty easy to forget about your carry gun. Luckily, the cooler airports let you go out it back in your car. As long as you’re not intentionally trying to put it in your carry on, who cares.
Are you kidding me? Anyone who “forgets” where their gun is does not deserve the right to own a deadly weapon and should face severe criminal charges. Way too many unqualified idiots with guns in this country.
And exactly 0 tried to something nefarious. Crime is so rampant in the USA that you need to lack heat when you go out. Clearly 1 out of every 100,000 forgot to leave their weapon in the car.
Imagine going through life this afraid.