Guns in Airports

Oct 24, 17 20:57

Post #1 of 136 (3408 views)

So I heard on radio today that my local airport, Birmingham International (Alabama), has had 48 people try to go through security with firearms this calendar year. Last year 45 people did.

Should we not be concerned that people who carry pistols are so dumb that they either don't know you can't take them on an airplane or cannot recall that they are in possession of a pistol?

I was thinking that this news just reflects upon the intelligence of Alabamians, but Colorado travelers appear twice as dumb (or have a busier airport).

So far in my life I've known two people who have been shot accidentally by pistols. I know no one who has used a firearm in self defense.

I have a concealed carry permit (but have not carried in twenty years). Pinko commies like [Edit: names deleted, meant in jest, but I have high respect for each person I named and this may not be clear] would call me a gun nut if they opened my gun safe , but I found myself wondering when I heard the story on the radio.

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Last edited by: H-: Oct 25, 17 9:50

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 6:13

Post #2 of 136 (3307 views)

H- wrote:

I was thinking that this news just reflects upon the intelligence of Alabamians, but Colorado travelers appear twice as dumb (or have a busier airport).

I'm sure DIA isn't any busier than whatever airport Alabama has.

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 7:22

Post #3 of 136 (3250 views)

Well, I have mentioned before that a visit to the local gun range often leaves me shaking my head. So, yes, people are stupid.

That said, my understanding is, the majority of firearms confiscated by TSA are in carry-on bags and are either in locked cases or have a trigger lock. No, that does not excuse their ignorance of proper procedures, but, it isn't like the majority of people had the firearm on their physical person.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 7:25

Post #4 of 136 (3241 views)

Some people are just plane dumb but smart people do make dumb mistakes now and then.

Two years after I graduated college, our school's baseball coach was caught with a pistol in the airport when flying down to spring training with the team. He grabbed a bag to pack and didn't realize he left the pistol in there when he went to the range the day before.

He was pretty well known in the region and judge slapped him with a few hundred dollar fine. Basically everyone in the courtroom knew it was a complete accident and he had no intention to harm anyone.

Guy was not dumb, just make a dumb mistake.

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 8:06

Post #5 of 136 (3195 views)

I have lost my swiss army knife multiple times because I forget I have it get to the xray machine and when I am emptying my pockets its too late, into the bin it goes. I would suspect some of these people just forgot they had the pistol strapped on or in the bag. Risk of having pistol and being injured by it vs successful self defense likely doesn't favor self defense as you say.

They constantly try to escape from the darkness outside and within
Dreaming of systems so perfect that no one will need to be good T.S. Eliot

Re: Guns in Airports [len] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 8:42

Post #6 of 136 (3172 views)

len wrote:

I have lost my swiss army knife multiple times because I forget I have it get to the xray machine and when I am emptying my pockets its too late, into the bin it goes. I would suspect some of these people just forgot they had the pistol strapped on or in the bag. Risk of having pistol and being injured by it vs successful self defense likely doesn't favor self defense as you say.

I'm sure that it's true that lots of these people just forgot they had their weapon on their person or in their bag. However, that's like saying, "I don't have evil intentions, I'm just too stupid or careless with my deadly registered firearm to keep track of where it is."

Seriously? Forgot you had a pistol in your duffel bag? Forgot you were wearing a pistol? If you can't keep track of your firearm, I'm not sure you deserve to keep one.

Slowguy

(insert pithy phrase here...)

Re: Guns in Airports [len] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 8:44

Post #7 of 136 (3169 views)

len wrote:

I have lost my swiss army knife multiple times because I forget I have it get to the xray machine and when I am emptying my pockets its too late, into the bin it goes. I would suspect some of these people just forgot they had the pistol strapped on or in the bag. Risk of having pistol and being injured by it vs successful self defense likely doesn't favor self defense as you say.

I think this happens in the vast majority of cases.

My brother and I were just flying out to LA for a deposition. I sail through and I see his bags getting scanned over and over. Dumbass has a giant pocketknife we use as a letter opener in his bag. And then he has a leatherman style tool hanging from his computer bag. He just didn't realize those were on/in his bags.

I was kind of irritated and trying to get them to do a cavity search. But they see this stuff so often they didn't even flinch. They just directed him to the kiosk where he needed to fill out the stuff to get it mailed back to him.

I'm beginning to think that we are much more fucked than I thought.

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:05

Post #8 of 136 (3157 views)

Human brains are on auto pilot as much half the time. Pair that with getting up early and having to deal with the crap show that is the airport and I can see how it could happen, even though it seems crazy.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/...nearly-half-the-time

Re: Guns in Airports [len] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:08

Post #9 of 136 (3152 views)

Yep, few years back lost my Leatherman, I couldn't find it for six months. Loved that tool. TSA found it!

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:25

Post #10 of 136 (3139 views)

I wonder how much the TSA ends up fining people for doing this. Looks like they can fine up to about $10K but I'll bet most people get let off because it was a "mistake."

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:28

Post #11 of 136 (3135 views)

So far in my life I've known two people who have been shot accidentally by pistols. I know no one who has used a firearm in self defense.

That's the argument I always find odd, that people need a gun so they can defend themselves in case of an attack. I read that in 2012 in the U.S., there were 1,200,000 violent crimes (8,850 gun homicides) where having a gun could have been justified. In that same year, there were 259 shootings of criminals by a gun owner in what was classified as self defense.

There are good arguments for allowing guns (ie. the Constitution) but the idea that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun is just a catchy slogan. People's perception of what they would do to defend themselves or their family is a lot different when reality strikes.

Re: Guns in Airports [Sanuk] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:42

Post #12 of 136 (3124 views)

Sanuk wrote:

So far in my life I've known two people who have been shot accidentally by pistols. I know no one who has used a firearm in self defense.

That's the argument I always find odd, that people need a gun so they can defend themselves in case of an attack. I read that in 2012 in the U.S., there were 1,200,000 violent crimes (8,850 gun homicides) where having a gun could have been justified. In that same year, there were 259 shootings of criminals by a gun owner in what was classified as self defense.

There are good arguments for allowing guns (ie. the Constitution) but the idea that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun is just a catchy slogan. People's perception of what they would do to defend themselves or their family is a lot different when reality strikes.

http://www.politico.com/...leck-response-115082

https://www.cnsnews.com/...tant-crime-deterrent

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Re: Guns in Airports [H-] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:44

Post #13 of 136 (3123 views)

I know youre joking with the pinko commie barb, but you know that depite losing one of my great loves to a gun, im not anti gun. If i didnt have kids in the house, id own one. Im a pretty great shot, and i enjoy target shooting. Theforge and i were supposed to have a competition once but he chickened out. Used work as an excuse. I think its because he didnt want to lose to a pinko commie anti gun nut.

who's smarter than you're? i'm!

Re: Guns in Airports [slowguy] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:44

Post #14 of 136 (3123 views)

slowguy wrote:

Seriously? Forgot you had a pistol in your duffel bag? Forgot you were wearing a pistol? If you can't keep track of your firearm, I'm not sure you deserve to keep one.

Forgetting a Swiss Army knife (or not knowing you can't bring your own bottled water) is one thing. But someone forgetting they had a gun in their bag? It's no wonder there are so many accidental shootings.

"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

Re: Guns in Airports [veganerd] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:47

Post #15 of 136 (3117 views)

veganerd wrote:

I know youre joking with the pinko commie barb, but you know that depite losing one of my great loves to a gun, im not anti gun. If i didnt have kids in the house, id own one. Im a pretty great shot, and i enjoy target shooting. Theforge and i were supposed to have a competition once but he chickened out. Used work as an excuse. I think its because he didnt want to lose to a pinko commie anti gun nut.

I was kidding, and I didn't really mean to cast you into any camp on this issue. BUT huge revelation in your post. IMO, you are now the Chuck Norris -- the ultimate badass -- of the forum for having called out Forgie and him backing down.

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Re: Guns in Airports [AndysStrongAle] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 9:57

Post #16 of 136 (3102 views)

AndysStrongAle wrote:

Some people are just plane dumb

Witty pun or terrible spelling?

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Re: Guns in Airports [Sanuk] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:00

Post #17 of 136 (3097 views)

Sanuk wrote:

So far in my life I've known two people who have been shot accidentally by pistols. I know no one who has used a firearm in self defense.

That's the argument I always find odd, that people need a gun so they can defend themselves in case of an attack. I read that in 2012 in the U.S., there were 1,200,000 violent crimes (8,850 gun homicides) where having a gun could have been justified. In that same year, there were 259 shootings of criminals by a gun owner in what was classified as self defense.

There are good arguments for allowing guns (ie. the Constitution) but the idea that the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is to have a good guy with a gun is just a catchy slogan. People's perception of what they would do to defend themselves or their family is a lot different when reality strikes.

Can you cite a reference for the 259 Self-Defense shootings? That number starkly contrasts the 500,000 - 3 Million self-annual defense "uses" from the CDC report. Perhaps the discrepancy is due to the fact that the gun is not even fired during the vast majority of self-defense "uses", where just presenting it was sufficient.

"defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year." - CDC report

Also, from the same report:

"Studies that directly assessed the effect of actual defensive uses of guns (i.e., incidents in which a gun was "used" by the crime victim in the sense of attacking or threatening an offender) have found consistently lower injury rates among gun-using crime victims compared with victims who used other self-protective strategies."

Source: 2013 CDC gun study (commissioned by the Obama administration): http://www.nap.edu/...id=18319&page=R1

"100% of the people who confuse correlation and causation end up dying."

Re: Guns in Airports [veganerd] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:01

Post #18 of 136 (3096 views)

How often do you shoot?

"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Re: Guns in Airports [slowguy] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:02

Post #19 of 136 (3092 views)

slowguy wrote:

len wrote:

I have lost my swiss army knife multiple times because I forget I have it get to the xray machine and when I am emptying my pockets its too late, into the bin it goes. I would suspect some of these people just forgot they had the pistol strapped on or in the bag. Risk of having pistol and being injured by it vs successful self defense likely doesn't favor self defense as you say.

I'm sure that it's true that lots of these people just forgot they had their weapon on their person or in their bag. However, that's like saying, "I don't have evil intentions, I'm just too stupid or careless with my deadly registered firearm to keep track of where it is."

Seriously? Forgot you had a pistol in your duffel bag? Forgot you were wearing a pistol? If you can't keep track of your firearm, I'm not sure you deserve to keep one.

Aside from this, pistols are fairly heavy aren't they? When you pick up your bag do you not notice that it has something on the heavy side in it?

When I pick up my weekend bag I notice if there is something in it that throws off the weight distribution of the bag.

Sometimes I leave my flashlight in a side pocket. I always notice that it's there the next time I pick up the bag.

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Re: Guns in Airports [BLeP] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:06

Post #20 of 136 (3087 views)

BLeP wrote:

slowguy wrote:

len wrote:

I have lost my swiss army knife multiple times because I forget I have it get to the xray machine and when I am emptying my pockets its too late, into the bin it goes. I would suspect some of these people just forgot they had the pistol strapped on or in the bag. Risk of having pistol and being injured by it vs successful self defense likely doesn't favor self defense as you say.

I'm sure that it's true that lots of these people just forgot they had their weapon on their person or in their bag. However, that's like saying, "I don't have evil intentions, I'm just too stupid or careless with my deadly registered firearm to keep track of where it is."

Seriously? Forgot you had a pistol in your duffel bag? Forgot you were wearing a pistol? If you can't keep track of your firearm, I'm not sure you deserve to keep one.

Aside from this, pistols are fairly heavy aren't they? When you pick up your bag do you not notice that it has something on the heavy side in it?

When I pick up my weekend bag I notice if there is something in it that throws off the weight distribution of the bag.

Sometimes I leave my flashlight in a side pocket. I always notice that it's there the next time I pick up the bag.

Personally, I would think one would notice. But, if you are in a hurry ... maybe ...

I'm not sure why people don't have dedicated range bags. I am never worried about forgetting a handgun. They go from my range bag to my safe (after cleaning) every time. What I would be worried about is live ammo. Very easy for some of that to get loose and fall into the bottle of a bag, get "lost" in a pocket, etc. The only thing that every carries my firearm or ammo is my range bag. [Unless I am traveling w/ a handgun, in which case it goes in a TSA approved lock-box and is declared with my check-in bags].

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Re: Guns in Airports [JSA] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:10

Post #21 of 136 (3078 views)

Is travelling with ammo banned as well?

Pure ignorance question, is ammo dangerous without the gun?

How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Re: Guns in Airports [BLeP] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:17

Post #22 of 136 (3071 views)

BLeP wrote:

Is travelling with ammo banned as well?

Pure ignorance question, is ammo dangerous without the gun?

Ammo cannot be in your carry-on bag, only your checked bag. Likewise, you cannot carry-on any magazine or any part of a gun (like just the slide, just the frame, etc.). All of these items much be in your checked bag and declared to the airline.

Not really. In theory, yes. In theory, it could go off under exceptional conditions, but the changes are slim.

The idea is to prevent a number of people from bringing in a single element of a gun to be assembled in the plane.

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

Last edited by: JSA: Oct 25, 17 10:18

Re: Guns in Airports [BLeP] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:38

Post #23 of 136 (3042 views)

BLeP wrote:

AndysStrongAle wrote:

Some people are just plane dumb

Witty pun or terrible spelling?

nope, terrible spelling...

Re: Guns in Airports [vitus979] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:52

Post #24 of 136 (3022 views)

vitus979 wrote:

How often do you shoot?

About as much in a year as theforge shoots in a month! We did have a friendly challenge set up here in minneapolis when he used to come here for work, but he had to cancel because his company sold their local business.

Im not an expert marksman, im just a really good shooter for someone who never does it. Everyone has natural talents, thats mine i guess. Im sure there are people here who are better.

who's smarter than you're? i'm!

Re: Guns in Airports [BLeP] [ In reply to ]

Oct 25, 17 10:55

Post #25 of 136 (3017 views)

Sometimes I leave my flashlight in a side pocket.

And here I was, thinking you were just glad to see me.

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