Checking a handgun at SFO--trip report
 

Hi, first time poster but I’m the husband of a long time flyertalker, (whom I will not name in case I get flamed).

I went through domestic at SFO on 12/27/7. I declared my pistol, in a locked case, in my checked luggage. The (experienced) United ticket agent merely had me sign a “certify unloaded” chit and then I took the elevator downstairs with a smiling baggage handler to a TSA secondary.

The TSA agent didn’t even examine the pistol but entirely unpacked my checked bag and ran 4-5 explosive swabs through it. Locked everything up again, slapped a “TSA inspected” sticker on it & the smiling little baggage guy took it away. The whole process only took ten minutes …AND it was the first one off the belt at IAH. No problems.

welcome to ft, stinkycheese, and thanks for the report! ;)

Awesome. I've been saying for quite some time that I need to get an antique, non-functioning gun (part) that doesn't require a gun permit so I can force TSA to call me to be present during a manual bag search.

Ive never had them unpack my bag, and the only time I ever opened it was for the JFK ticket agent who was required to call a port authority officer to come by and see if they could arrest me for having the gun in NYC. Granted, it was a total violation of federal law for them to do that.... however that blatant violation continues in there.


I would think that with a gun and ammo in my bag, there should be some residue there to trigger the ETD....

When was this? My understanding of the Firearm Owners Protection Act is that it grants protections for legal gun owners travelling through jurisdictions where the gun laws are different/stricter than those of their resident state.

The travel date was 12/27/7. Can't answer to the FOPA, but I do know that my concealed weapons permit, for example, issued in the State of Washington, is not valid in other states.

Unless the city of Arlington has more stringent regulations than the state of VA regarding firearms ownership (and I THOUGHT that VA has state-level pre-emption of local regulations, but could be mistaken or Arlington could have been grandfathered for pre-existing regulations), there is no permit required for firearms ownership. Buy a gun from a private seller, and the .gov has no involvement at all. Or you could buy a deactivated or blank-firing firearm, which look visually-identical to the real deal and should require the same sort of inspection with no possibility of requiring a Form 4473 from the seller. Not sure whether a part alone would do the job.

That's a great idea, IMO, to ensure you'll be there when TSA rifles through your luggage. Then too, it'd take up one of your checked-bag allotments. Perhaps a handgun case inside a larger checked suitcase?

Disclaimer: IANAL, just a firearms and civil-rights enthusiast.

FOPA '86 *IS* supposed to protect firearms owners from such infringements - but historically, NY and NJ haven't let that stop them from throwing the traveller in jail for the night and then "finding out" that they weren't really permitted to do so. It's harassment of travelling firearms owners, pure and simple, for the "crime" of daring to travel with evilnastybad firearms.:mad::td: So far, to my knowledge, they (the relevant "authorities") have not been legally held accountable.

I asked the TSA agent specifically about the powder residue. She said they were not "sniffing" for that. I guess it would take lots of pistol powder to cause damage. Even "fast" pistol powder burns pretty slowly, compared to something like two-comp.

Are they doing it because the person carried the gun to the airport that day? As in - you shouldn't have had this to begin with (I totally disagree with those strict gun laws in DC and Chicago, et al, but it's their laws, not mine!)? Or is it transiting, layover harassment? Does it make a difference?

When I read "gun" and "SFO", I thought this was going to be a good story!

Its a great theory, and I agree with you. I have spoen to the JFK security director about it and she is standing by the policy.

I have posted a thread on the subject:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=749425

It is valid in Arizona.

The claim is that the person possessed the gun with no permit.

Even though the DOJ letter specifically lays out the scenario where a person is traveling legally from one state to another and is only moving a gun from the airport parking lot to the check in counter, and agrees that this is covered by LEOSA, the PAPD does not agree and has an instruction by the local prosecutors to arrest those individuals. These people are in jail for days and never get their guns back.

The NRA has filed a suit on their behalf against the PAPD and it is in the court process now.

No officer discretion? :(