readywhenyouare

When a gun is found at a security checkpoint why is it that sometimes the person is arrested and other times the gun is just confiscated? You would think there would be a standard procedure for this. Personally I'd rather the gun just be given back to the passenger and have them arrange a new flight. As far as I know no one has actually tried to get a gun past security and instead simply forgot it was in the luggage. If this belongs in OMNI/PR then feel free to move it there.

jkhuggins

AFAIK, when TSOs find a gun at a security checkpoint, they are supposed to immediately summon local law enforcement. TSOs have no arrest authority; the decision whether or not to arrest the passenger lies solely with the responding LEO.

At that point, the question of arrest versus forfeiture becomes one of understanding the myriad number of local laws dealing with possession of firearms --- and there's no reason to expect that those laws will treat similar incidents in similar ways.

Often1

The arrest-no arrest decision is made by law enforcement on the spot. But, the decision to prosecute or not is made by the US Attorney on the federal violation and by a local prosecutor if there is a local violation as well.

LEO's have vast discretion as to whether to make an arrest, not just on this charge, but on any. That is why they likely temporarily detain the individual and get some preliminary facts and do some preliminary database checking. No criminal record, no history of violence, rational story and so on, there really is no reason to arrest.

But, that is not the end of it. In theory, the US Attorney could file a charge or seek an indictment for five years. Not likely once the initial determination is made, but possible.

I would strongly disagree with mandatory policies in situations such as this. I don't excuse the conduct, e.g., carrying a firearm. But, I am not sure that anybody needs to sit in lockup for as long as 72 hours waiting to appear in court, when they aren't an immediate danger and can easily be located.

halls120

Unless the person has a record or is on a special list it is highly doubtful a US Attorney is going to file federal charges.

TheOneTheOnly

I don't believe there's a federal criminal charge. Georgia for instance has decriminalized permit holders from carrying guns to the tsa checkpoints. I think the tsa can still try and levy a civil charge, but otherwise the person is just told to go take the gun back out of the checkpoint so I have heard. So in otherwords, it probably depends entirely on the locality as to criminality. I have no direct knowledge of this, nor am I lawyer.

gsoltso

Yeah, this is completely up to the local LEOs that respond. I have seen a firearm discovery go both ways, in less than a week. You factor in the variance in local firearm laws and the amount of focus given to them, and you have a complete crap shoot as far as what you can expect from location to location. AFAIK, TSA has no standard requirements of the local LEOs other than response times and requirements of that nature. The fine system is fairly difficult to find and understand as well. I have been able to find no hard and fast rule for fines related to firearms in the checkpoint.

petaluma1

Difficult to find? I found it in less than 20 seconds, page 7 of this document:

http://www.tsa.gov/sites/default/fil...nce_policy.pdf

Difficult to understand? No so much.

chollie

"The website is out-of-date."

gsoltso

My statement was predicated on how I have seen the fines issued vs not issued in places I have worked. I understand that a written regulation is simple to find, understanding how it is applied - not so much.

petaluma1

There's nothing to figuring out the application of fines, either, as it's a crap shoot with neither rhyme nor reason.

http://www.tsa.gov/civil-enforcement-policies

iMedic

I never understood how anyone could forget they're armed when approaching a security check point. If they actually forgot then that is a clear indication they may not posess the necessary discipline or respect to lawfully posess a deadly weapon.

coachrowsey

This

Schmurrr

Why do people forget they have "dangerous" large bottles of water when they approach the TSA checkpoint? These people must not possess the necessary discipline/respect to lawfully possess large bottles of water.

iMedic