Taking your gun on a trip? Pack it appropriately

TSA confiscated a record number of firearms in 2019

When getting ready for that big vacation, it’s important to pack that carry-on bag appropriately for the best possible flight.

Snacks? Check! Hand sanitizer? Check! Loaded firearm? *Error! Error! Error!*

In 2019, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) says it seized 4,432 guns last year from carryon baggage or on passengers at airport checkpoints in the U.S. – the most in its 18-year history. And even scarier? 87 percent of those guns were loaded. Phoenix Sky Harbor International came in 5th place on the TSA’s list of top 10 airports for firearm discoveries.

On the TSA’s website, the page dedicated to firearms notes that BB guns, cap guns, compressed air guns, firearms, parts of guns and firearms, pellet guns, realistic replicas of firearms, rifles and starter pistols all are forbidden in carry-on luggage.

In fact, rocket launchers, flare guns, flares, gun lighters and gun powder are forbidden in checked or carry-on luggage. It’s important to note that you can travel on an airplane with your firearm. But to do so, the firearm must be unloaded, packed in a hard-sided locked cast, taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared, and checked, TSA Administrator David Pekoske explained in a press release.

If you have ammunition, it too must go in your checked baggage in its original packaging, and it too must be declared to the airline.

If you bring your firearm to the airport and don’t follow those steps, you can be subject to criminal charges from law enforcement and civil penalties from the TSA – even if you have a concealed weapon permit. And those penalties from the TSA alone can be as high as $13,000, with a first offense usually resulting in $4,100 in penalties.

It’s also important to note that if the TSA confiscates a prohibited item at the checkpoint, said item is not returned to the owner.

Ultimately, this boils down to common sense and an awareness of the TSA regulations. If you want to travel with your firearm, follow the rules, and don’t bring it in your carry-on. Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.