The number of guns collected at airport checkpoints jumped in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period last year, according to new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) data.
TSA officers apprehended 1,508 firearms during the first quarter, which ended March 31, and found 93 percent of the guns were loaded. It was a 10.3 percent increase from the number of guns seized during the same period in 2022, when officers seized 1,367 firearms at the checkpoints and found more than 86 percent of those were loaded, according to the TSA.
A press release from the agency said that the number of passengers also has increased in the past year, with the first quarter of 2023 about 20 percent higher than in 2022. Transportation Security Officers (TSOs) scanned more than 191 million passengers in the first quarter of 2023, compared to about 158 million passengers during the same period last year.
The number of firearms taken by officers by the end of the first quarter averaged 16.8 per day, compared to 15.2 last year.
“Firearms at TSA security checkpoints present an unacceptable safety and security risk to other passengers and I am deeply concerned that the majority of these firearms our TSOs catch are loaded,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement.
“If you carry a firearm to the checkpoint, our TSOs will see it and there will be significant penalties, to include federal penalties and additional screening, which may prolong the security screening process,” he continued. “You may still travel with a firearm — it just must be properly packed in your checked baggage and you must declare it to the airline.”
The TSA said in its press release that those who violate the firearm policies will have their TSA PreCheck eligibility suspended for five years. The press release also noted the TSA last year updated its penalties for violating the firearms policy, and passengers could pay a maximum fine of $14,950. Those carrying firearms to security checkpoints also may be subject to city or state laws in the area.
TSA policy states no one can have a firearm in their carry-on luggage, even if they have a concealed carry permit. The policy also states that those traveling with a firearm must have it in a checked bag and declare it with the airline once they are checked in.