There have been plenty of stories of late about travellers who’ve had nail clippers, corkscrews (ahem), knitting needles, etc., confiscated by airport security. There have also been other stories — impressively, not too many — about other screwball actions (or overreactions) that got people booted off of planes.
But what actually happens when someone tries to bring a knife or a gun on-board, and then is caught? Well, at DIA … not a whole heck of a lot.
In the past three years, authorities at DIA have caught 76 people trying to take guns or illegal knives onto airplanes, according to police records. But only one ended in a felony conviction, while a second felony case is pending, court records show. The rest were let off with what amounts to a slap on the wrist: unsupervised probation, or $100 fines, or 20 hours of community service. Often, cases were dismissed without any punishment at all.
At least 15 of those 76 people were caught trying to take loaded guns onto a plane. Many more had unloaded handguns, but plenty of ammunition in their carry-on bags.
If they’d been terrorists, these airport visitors easily could have grabbed their guns and started firing. Yet hardly anyone was charged with a felony, or even with a misdemeanor. Most drew the charge of violating a city ordinance. In most cases, police merely confiscated their guns, gave them tickets and let them board their flights.
In most cases, folks got off easy because they convinced police, judges, etc., that it was inadvertent.
Okay, on the one hand, I can appreciate forgetting that you have something in your pocket, bag, or elsewhere on your person. Particularly if you, for example, always carry a gun, it might be possible to forget to leave it at home for the trip, or pack it, check it and declare it.
On the other hand, if you’re regularly carrying a gun, should you be allowed to be that forgetful about it without any penalty?