The only place you are going to find a “TSA Checkpoint” is in an airport. There is a 99% chance you are not going to be searched while wandering around the public area of an airport, but a 100% chance of being searched in some manner at the checkpoint. So naturally this is the most common place for someone to be caught breaking the laws of carrying a weapon at the airport. Kinda logical don’t ya think?

I am currently unclear about that, but I can research the SOP and let you know for sure. My thought is that once someone presents themselves (or their property) for screening (Walk through the WTMD or enter the AIT system), that they have crossed into the sterile area where weapons are not allowed by the run-of-the-mill passengers.

Again, the exact point where one crosses from one space to the other I am not totally clear about. I know that you can walk all the way to the WTMD or AIT system and still turn around without significant consequence. But actually crossing that threshold into the checkpoint is entering the sterile area.

Actually the law in many states requires citizens to report it when they observe someone breaking the law. Some states designate all citizens as “Mandatory Reporters” for certain things, and some only certain people based upon their profession.

But your right, the TSA does require us to report it when someone is violating a law in an area that TSA controls. We are required to report it to our supervisors. What they are required to do with it once it is in their hands you are going to have to address to someone else, I am not a supervisor.

Okay, but I was looking at your statement about "bringing a firearm to the checkpoint." Sorry if I misunderstood.

"Mandatory Reporting" concerns only crimes such as child or elder (sometimes) abuse, not other every day "crimes."

Again, the original point stands. In Nevada, being caught with a firearm at a TSA checkpoint bears the same potential consequences as being caught anywhere else in the airport. There's nothing special about a TSA checkpoint in that regard.

I appreciate you looking that up for us (well, ok, me).

I am unaware of any state mandatory reporting laws regarding the possession of firearms --- which is the question at hand. I, as an ordinary passenger, am not compelled to report such information. You, as a TSA employee, are compelled to do so. And, therefore, you do play a role in the passenger's potential conviction ... because without your (individual or collective) testimony, there is no evidence of a crime.

I was interpreting "bringing a firearm to the checkpoint" as implying that the person had the intention of transiting the checkpoint.

Hence the part about "“Mandatory Reporters” for certain things". :rolleyes:

But in New York it is not. In NY you get the state treatment only if caught before the checkpoint, but once at the checkpoint you get both state and federal. I believe NJ is just about the same way.

Welcome. And I confirmed by belief, presenting oneself for screening is the transition point from the public side to the sterile area. And to the best of my recollection I have not heard of anyone who did so unintentionally, nor would it matter if they had.

I am unaware of any as well, but that does not mean that they do not exist somewhere. But your right, our part in the case in question starts in finding the object, and ends just like any other citizen by being a good witness. But unlike the run-of-the-mill citizen, I get paid to do it. I kinda like that idea. :D:D

Ok. So, in some states, having a firearm at a TSA checkpoint creates extra problems for the passenger, while in other states there's no additional jeopardy other than that incurred by being in the airport.

Thanks for looking that up.

No ... with respect, Ron, you're still missing the key point.

If I discover that a fellow passenger is carrying a firearm, and point it out to him, and he says "oops, lemme go put this back in my car" and leaves, I can exercise my own discretion and choose not to report the event, since (IMHO) the spirit of the law has been fulfilled. If you, as an on-duty TSO, make the same discovery, you have no such discretion; you are compelled to make the report to your chain of command --- even if such a report would be counterproductive in the long run.

"Being a good witness" is not always the best course of action.

You began your thought with the sentence:

Not certain laws or some laws but the law, meaning any and all laws. :rolleyes::rolleyes: