LegalTender

Should SWA tell pax checking a gun that Mexican police typically arrest you on landing? A Nashville cop on his honeymoon just had his initial court appearance today, 2+ weeks in the Cancun slammer. Clearly this is on him, by law.

But the airline has no obligation to post a warning? Can't see it would harm them.

bitterproffit

No, its not the obligation of SWA to tell a Nashville cop that other countries have different gun laws than the US. Any more than they are obligated to tell a Nashville cop that other states have different gun laws. You would think the that police officer would be aware of the laws in the country where he is traveling, especially if they are going to check their personal gun.

Attached is an article.

https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news...-mexican-jail/

LegalTender

CUN website makes it clear:

Airlines are off the hook. Let them check guns on Mexican flights.

NoStressHere

What sort of intelligence does it take for someone to think twice about taking a GUN to another country?

Sorry - I have ZERO sympathy for anyone that thinks this is a good idea.

Did I mention how stupid this is?

kennycrudup

Admittedly, I have no information on all this, but considering that parts of MX have had tourists robbed, and the pax was an LEO, I can't say I wouldn't at least think about it in his situation.

... that being said, yeah, you're supposed to know the rules of where you're going, especially if you're an LEO.

So, a literal rookie mistake. 🤦‍♂️

PES_B1

Chinese Traveller here, you can check guns on US flights? Also, if this was prohibited, shouldn't the airport of departure will not release the luggage and load it into the plane in the first place? Last time, I checked a battery that was prohibited to check, after I was handed boarding passes, the check-in agents ask me to visit the small police office in charge of luggage screening down the conveyor belt as they are thinking I am checking prohibited items to check. I removed the battery, and they put it through the X-Ray again and let me go without any warning.

Misco60

It should be assumed that the police of just about every country in the world will arrest someone carrying a gun into the country (or on their person within the country).

dblumenhoff

It is legal to check a gun in the US. What was illegal here was to take it to Mexico. The people who check the luggage for prohibited items don't pay attention to the destination. They only remove things that are prohibited to have on a plane, not at the destination.

TOMFORD

Wonderful, first piece of gun news that does not involve innocent people dying.

kozyFlyer

I feel like it is peak American to take a gun into another country and probably because of safety rumors spread in low information online forums.

jjbiv

The officer was new to Nashville but had previously worked in Memphis. He definitely should have known better or done some better research. Mexican jails are not fun places to spend time, especially not in Cancun in the summer while on your honeymoon.

HockeyCoachBen

I wonder if he declared the gun upon check-in? If so, I would think the airline does bear some responsibility. To me, it's no different than an airline knowingly letting a passenger fly to a foreign country where they will be denied entry. Legally in the latter case, the airline has responsibility.

If he didn't declare the gun at check-in or immigration, then 100% on him!

pinniped

I assumed you had to declare firearms when you checked them as luggage. And I guess I figured they'd be subject to inspection at the time of check-in.

The other question I'd have: is it *ever* legal to take a gun to Mexico? Like, could the LEO have submitted paperwork ahead of time to a consulate and gotten a permit to carry in Mexico? I have no idea if this is possible...but if there are cases where it would be legal to bring it, I don't see how Southwest would be responsible for knowing whether the guy had his papers in order.

Clearly going for a honeymoon, it was a colossally stupid idea to bring it with him. In the absence of a very clear process to get a permit to do it, I would assume it's always illegal to bring a gun into a foreign country.

alggag

If he declared the firearm at checkin I am a little surprised that Southwest accepted it or didn’t at least say something. I’m just thinking along the lines of how they don’t accept pets on international flights even though it’s legal to transport pets as long as you have all the paperwork and vaccine records.

As for the the original story I have a hunch that he was hoping to sneak the gun into Mexico with a “better judged by 12 than carried by 6” sort of mindset. Oh well, chalk this one up to play stupid games win stupid prizes.

AS MHT

I would be curious to know if there actually is some sort of flag related to checking firearms on international itineraries. I know it's well posted on road signs near the US/Mexico border.

A quick search shows that it is possible (with a permit) to transport certain long-guns to Mexico for hunting trips, but clearly that is not the case here.