Revolver in Carry-on
I’m always amazed to read about the TSA coming across handguns in people’s carry-ons. It seems that almost every time, it’s a case of genuine forgetfulness. People just forget that they have a Glock in their backpack.
I generally carry a pocketknife with me. But, on the way to the airport, my routine is to check my pockets and luggage and purge them of knives, safety pins, tools, pens that are too pointy, or anything else that the Guardians of the Sky might find scary that day. The thing I dislike most about travelling is feeling, consequently, naked at my destination; the smartphone that the authorities generously allow me to take fails to compensate completely for the Swiss Army knife that stays home alone. But I have been educated by experience here, and am tired of being forced to surrender, at the gate, the gadgets that make earthbound life more convenient.
I was reminded of all this by today’s story about a .38-caliber handgun with five “bullets” that a man just forgot he had in his backpack as he shuffled through security at Richmond International Airport. The real story in the story is that this is the third wayward handgun found at the tiny airport so far this month. If the guards at Richmond achieve average performance, that means that 50 to 80 guns (and bombs) have been brought on to planes at this one obscure hub this month alone, so far.
All this leads to an obvious question: since none of these firearms, nor the tens of thousands travelling back and forth on planes every year, seem to lead to any problems, perhaps we should reconsider whether our obsession with what people are bringing aboard justifies the resulting massive inconvenience and cost, and focus on the only real potential security threat: the people themselves, and their intentions.
Related Craziness
Another .38 in a backpack, this one tossed on the conveyor belt by actor and comedian Mike Epps.
