Well, this certainly helps to clear up what is "artfully concealed".

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/201...urity-officers

Want to be arrested? Just carry a weapon through South Florida airport checkpoints
April 11, 2011|By Ken Kaye, Staff Writer


About 200 people were arrested at the security checkpoints of South Florida's three major airports last year, many charged with bringing in guns, knives and other lethal weapons.

Caught with items more dangerous than most airport transgressors — security officers at the three airports intercepted more than 55,000 articles in 2010 — none of those arrested had a link to terrorism, police say. Yet catching them was vital to the Transportation Security Administration's mission.

"Our job is not just to be sure that we keep terrorists off planes, but also to be sure that we detect and deter," said Tim Lewis, the TSA's security director at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. "No one wants to be sitting on a plane next to a terrorist, or for that matter a violent gang member or other nefarious person with a gun or knife."

For example, if a traveler is caught with a box cutter used for work in a carry-on bag, the item will be seized, but the passenger likely will be questioned and moved along. Yet if the person tries to hide those same box cutters under clothing, he or she likely will be arrested, said Chief Roy Liddicott, commanding officer at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

"If it's what we call 'artfully concealed,' then it's a different story," he said. "That's intent. Now we take you."

Concealed weapons permit no help

Even if you have a concealed weapons permit, carrying an undeclared gun or knife likely will end with an arrest, Liddicott said.

Such was the case in November, when TSA officers found a small handgun in Gerald Earley's duffle bag while he was at a checkpoint at Palm Beach International. Because Earley, 46, of Fort Pierce, had a concealed weapons permit, it was considered a misdemeanor and he was given a notice to appear in court and released.

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