Can TSA officers carry guns on duty?
#31
Join Date: Jan 2009
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And nothing "SSI" about it....all one has to do is go over to USAJOBs and look under 1801 series for the jobs. Nothing at all on there about LEO Status, carrying weapons, or Lautenburg Amendment....
Plus, I worked for the FAMS in their OP Center for 2 years and know they don't carry.
Only ones under TSA that carry are FAMS and OIG. That's it.
If a TSO carried on-duty and was seen.....local LEOs would be called, they would be disarmed, arrested, and carted off to jail.....and fired.
#32
Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 2,195
If its not actual Federal Property then there is only local and state laws that would prevent. TSA has a policy forbidding the carry of a firearm by non-LEO personnel while on duty.
#34
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#35
Suspended
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Transportation Security Officers, are officers because that is the title and designation provided by OPM. This fact does not make them "law enforcement officers" just as the fact that a title does not include the word, "officer" does not mean that the individual is not a "law enforcement officer" (Special Agent being the most common designation for a federal law enforcement officer).
Hopefully this tired old debate can end as it's just plain wrong. Yes, they are "officers" and yes, they are not "law enforcement officers."
Next.
Hopefully this tired old debate can end as it's just plain wrong. Yes, they are "officers" and yes, they are not "law enforcement officers."
Next.
#36
Join Date: May 2005
Location: Dulles, VA
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If you're referring to active-duty military traveling as passengers, they can't carry weapons into the "sterile area" or on a plane any more than I can.
#37
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: boca raton, florida
Posts: 621
Negitive. I know for a fact that TSI's don't have LEO Status.
And nothing "SSI" about it....all one has to do is go over to USAJOBs and look under 1801 series for the jobs. Nothing at all on there about LEO Status, carrying weapons, or Lautenburg Amendment....
Plus, I worked for the FAMS in their OP Center for 2 years and know they don't carry.
Only ones under TSA that carry are FAMS and OIG. That's it.
If a TSO carried on-duty and was seen.....local LEOs would be called, they would be disarmed, arrested, and carted off to jail.....and fired.
And nothing "SSI" about it....all one has to do is go over to USAJOBs and look under 1801 series for the jobs. Nothing at all on there about LEO Status, carrying weapons, or Lautenburg Amendment....
Plus, I worked for the FAMS in their OP Center for 2 years and know they don't carry.
Only ones under TSA that carry are FAMS and OIG. That's it.
If a TSO carried on-duty and was seen.....local LEOs would be called, they would be disarmed, arrested, and carted off to jail.....and fired.
#38
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: DFW
Posts: 593
When you say "Military on duty", what are you referring to? Are you talking about back after 9/11 when there were National Guardsmen at some airports? Even then, they were not locked and loaded, and I'm pretty sure that the National Guard is no longer permitted to work security at an airport checkpoint. I believe that was temporary legislation passed in a hurry after 9/11 that is gone. At least in practice, since I haven't seen a Guardsman at an airport since 2002. Active duty military and reservists were never allowed to work security at airports, due to the Posse Comitatus Act. National Guards, being state entities, could.
If you're referring to active-duty military traveling as passengers, they can't carry weapons into the "sterile area" or on a plane any more than I can.
If you're referring to active-duty military traveling as passengers, they can't carry weapons into the "sterile area" or on a plane any more than I can.
http://www.apd.army.mil/jw2/xmldemo/r190_14/main.asp
#39
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I overheard a conversation at PHX where a TSO suggested that he carries a gun while on duty, although I didn't get the full context so I'm not positive.
Based on my research, Arizona is apparently one of the few states that allows anyone to carry a concealed weapon in public, without the need to apply for a permit from the sheriff like in other states. So with that said, is there anything stopping a TSA agent from carrying a concealed handgun while screening passengers?
Based on my research, Arizona is apparently one of the few states that allows anyone to carry a concealed weapon in public, without the need to apply for a permit from the sheriff like in other states. So with that said, is there anything stopping a TSA agent from carrying a concealed handgun while screening passengers?
Last edited by essxjay; Oct 7, 2012 at 9:04 pm Reason: off topic
#40
Join Date: May 2005
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It doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The last time I saw it was a couple of years ago when I saw an armed military officer at a commercial airport, he and a partner were transporting a military prisoner.
http://www.apd.army.mil/jw2/xmldemo/r190_14/main.asp
http://www.apd.army.mil/jw2/xmldemo/r190_14/main.asp
That's a very small subset of the military, though. The point from the previous poster that I clarified was that the military, in general, are treated just like you and me when it comes to weapons on planes and/or into a sterile area. Private Trailerpark can't carry a gun on the plane just because he signed up with the Army.
#41
Join Date: Apr 2008
Posts: 843
The pilots (FFDOs) have to keep their firearm locked in a dangerous TSA-designed holster (that was the root cause of the negligent discharge on a US flight several years ago) anytime they are in a place other than the cockpit. Never mind that they have final authority for anything that happens aboard the aircraft, not just the cockpit. The individual FFDOs are not issued firearms, they bear the cost of what the TSA approves. Every now and then there is a sale
#42
Join Date: Dec 2001
Location: CP-ASEL,AMEL,G-IA in Tucson, Arizona, United States
Posts: 1,124
AZ does NOT allow someone to carry a concealed weapon without a permit. AZ is an open carry state, you can carry a weapon without a permit if it is openly displayed - like on a holster on your belt. NV is the same. There are prohibitions against carrying a weapon (concealed or not) into certain buildings - schools, courthouses, and airports. An exception is made for a weapon that is going to be checked as luggage.
#43
Original Member
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We've removed a number of off topic posts. This discussion is specifically about TSOs carrying while working a c/p. If some of you would like to take up tangential points please start a thread in OMNI/PR, which frankly could probably use a change of pace.
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essxjay
TS/S moderator
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essxjay
TS/S moderator
#44
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The ones at MCI were.....
Yes they can in certain circumstances.
#45
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
Original Poster
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We've removed a number of off topic posts. This discussion is specifically about TSOs carrying while working a c/p. If some of you would like to take up tangential points please start a thread in OMNI/PR, which frankly could probably use a change of pace.
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essxjay
TS/S moderator
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essxjay
TS/S moderator
So far, everyone seems to agree that TSAs cannot carry personal guns on duty, but no one has cited any federal or state law or regulation that prevents them from doing so. Anyone have a specific reference? I know it would probably be common sense, but it has to be somewhere.