Gun rules at airports unchanged

Solutions few; frustration grows

A month after five tourists were shot and killed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, the procedures for handling guns have not changed and tougher regulations appear unlikely.

Broward County, which owns the airport, can’t stop people from flying with checked guns or ammunition; legislators in the past have been reluctant to restrict guns; police don’t know who’s flying in with weapons; and only airlines can control how people pick up those firearms.

The best the county can do is ask the sheriff to assign more deputies to the airport, officials said.

Broward Mayor Barbara Sharief said she’s frustrated that the Jan. 6 shooting hasn’t led to a firm proposal for change.

“I’m tired of talking. I feel very frustrated about the talking and grandstanding,”

Sharief said. “Five people lost their lives very senselessly. We need to find a way to prevent that from happening ever again in the United States.”

Sharief said she couldn’t talk about specific security upgrades the county might have made. Broward Sheriff’s Office representatives, in an email, declined to discuss airport staffing, including how many deputies were stationed there on the day of the shooting and whether they’ve sent in more since then. They cited an exemption in state public records laws for security plans.

Some proposals have been floated at county meetings and news conferences: a federal ban on flying with ammunition with a firearm; a ban on carrying ammunition and the firearm in the same checked bag; a requirement that travelers pick up checked guns at a secure checkpoint, possibly with an armed escort out of the airport; or an expansion of the security zone in the airport to include baggage claim, so that all entrants are checked for weapons.

But getting one or all of the proposals approved is unlikely, some elected officials have conceded.

Former state Sen. Steve Geller, a county commissioner, said he sees no likelihood the Republican-led state Legislature would cooperate with Broward on any request that restricts guns at the airport.

“It depends on what the legislation was. If there was legislation that said nobody with a beard and turban — which would be unconstitutional — could go into an airport, that would probably pass in Tallahassee,” Geller said. “But if it said you cannot carry an AK-47 with ammunition, with the safety off, into an airport, it would probably fail.”

At a workshop Tuesday with state legislators, Democratic Sen. Gary Farmer said: “We are not going to get a hearing on a single gun safety bill,” he said.

State Rep. Jake Raburn, R-Vallrico, has a different solution to airport safety. He has filed a bill to allow guns in parts of airport terminals outside the secure areas. Current Florida law prevents people from carrying concealed guns in airports.

“I do personally feel like had this bill been in place already, there could have been the potential for people to protect themselves,” Raburn said the day after the shootings.

Esteban Santiago, 26, pleaded not guilty to killing five people and injuring six others in the Terminal 2 shooting spree at the airport. He flew from Alaska on Delta Airlines, checked a gun and ammunition and retrieved it from the baggage claim carousel in Fort Lauderdale. He’s accused of loading the firearm in a men’s restroom and then emerging and shooting the first people he encountered. Santiago’s flying with the gun and bullets violated no existing laws or airline policies, officials have said.

Peter Martin, CEO of the international security firm FocusPoint International and a Plantation resident, said in a recent interview that changing gun laws or beefing up airport security isn’t the answer. The shooting just as easily could have happened at an arena or mall, he said. If guns are outlawed, he said, killers will find other means.

“It’s really important to take a step back and don’t get hung up on gun laws and where these things happened,” he said. “We need to look at the macro level . ... You’re not going to be able to stop bad people from doing bad things until you do a better job getting help for people.”

County Commissioner Chip LaMarca, a Republican, proposed requiring travelers to retrieve checked firearms at the airline baggage office, or some place other than the carousel. That way an armed officer could escort the person out.

It’s up to airlines how travelers reunite with their lawfully checked firearms, Transportation Security Administration spokeswoman Sari Koshetz said.

Airlines for America, an industry association, declined to comment on whether airlines would voluntarily agree to alter the process.

“Safety is our highest priority, and airlines strictly adhere to all applicable federal regulations regarding the transport of firearms,” spokeswoman Kathy Grannis Allen said. “We do not have anything further to offer.”

County Attorney Joni Armstrong Coffey agreed to research whether the County Commission could change that.

“I think we can make some positive changes from that incident,” LaMarca said, to “at least give us a little more of a check and balance.”

Geller cautioned against going too far in securing the airport, saying expanding the security checkpoint area to include baggage claim, for example, would do more harm than good, lengthening lines and requiring travelers to arrive hours before flights.

“When you harden one target tremendously, they will simply seek out a softer target. They’ll go into a major mall. They’ll go into a very large restaurant. Or they’ll go into a hotel when they’re having a large convention or something,” Geller said. “I think a lot of people are saying we’ve got do something. But I don’t want to react in a way that will not actually help, and at the same time will damage our airport.”

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, a Weston Democrat whose district includes the airport, met with law enforcement and local airport and county officials in the aftermath of the shooting. She said a methodical approach is best, rather than something “knee jerk.”

Wasserman Schultz is a frequent traveler in and out of the airport. In an interview after the attack, she told the Sun Sentinel that baggage claim security and the ability to fly with firearms need review.

“Like any security system, it has to be constantly reviewed and revised,” she said. “If you recall, after you had a passenger light his shoes on fire, they banned cigarette lighters. When a passenger tried to use liquid to make an explosive, they banned liquids on planes. And now clearly it seems as though this shooter checked his firearms.”

Sharief said she talked to many members of the local congressional delegation, which is Democrat-heavy. Even if they support doing something, like no longer allowing travelers to check ammunition with their weapons, Congress is led by Republicans.

“It doesn’t appear Republican lawmakers are receptive to changing gun laws,” Sharief said, “because a lot of their base are [National Rifle Association] members. We’re fighting an uphill battle.”

At the airport, aviation director Mark Gale is preparing to hire an outside consultant to review what happened.

Airport spokesman Greg Meyer said it’s too soon to recommend security upgrades. He said the consultant will make recommendations, if warranted, and elected officials can decide what to act on.

“Our No. 1 priority is the safety and security of the traveling public and our passengers,” Meyer said. “What, if any, changes take place at the airport from the incident on Jan. 6 really should come from a governmental body.”

Broward Sheriff Scott Israel told the Sun Sentinel in a recent interview that he’d look at the consultant’s report and speak with those close to the issue.

But, he said, “at the end of the day, we live in a free society and people are allowed to go and come into certain areas. What are you going to do,” Israel asked, “protect every venue in the United States of America? It’s impossible. You can’t stop a lone wolf assassin. You can’t stop a person who’s going to pull out a gun and cowardly shoot people.”