Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers screened 8.8 million passengers over the recent four-day Independence Day holiday, including 2.49 million passengers on Friday, July 1, a figure the TSA calls a post-pandemic high. But as the number of passengers steadily increases, so are the number of guns TSA officers are stopping at US airport checkpoints.

According to the TSA, their checkpoint officers have found more than 3,000 guns in the possession of passengers intending to board a plane this year. That is an average of 17 guns a day. At the current rate, the TSA says the end-of-year count should exceed last year's final count of 5,972 guns.In 2021, TSA officers stopped a record number of passengers in airports with guns in their possession. That record wasn't due to the number of people flying - 2021 was a lousy year in terms of passenger numbers. Instead, TSA officers had more time to focus on each passenger, resulting in a bigger gun haul.It begs the question, how many guns get through security in a typical year when TSA officers are busy? And that's even before you get to the whole issue of what on earth was a person thinking (or not thinking) trying to take a gun onto a plane.

Gun in passenger's carry on Newark July 1 2022
Photo: TSA

A constant stream of gun intercepts at TSA airport checkpoints

The TSA doesn't issue media statements covering every gun intercepted, but it does provide a steady feed of releases that leave you shaking your head in disbelief. On Friday, the first day of the holiday period, TSA officers at Newark Airport (EWR) spotted a loaded handgun in the carry-on of a Georgia man. The man told officials that he forgot that he had his loaded gun with him when he entered the security checkpoint. He was arrested, his gun confiscated, and the TSA says he now faces a "stiff financial penalty." Maybe something stiffer than a fine might improve the gentleman's forgetfulness when next at EWR.

On Saturday, TSA officers at Dane County Regional Airport (MSN) picked up a gun (there was no confirmation that it was loaded) in the carry-on of a passenger from Middleton.

"Travelers should know better than to make such a careless and costly mistake," said Wisconsin TSA Federal Security Director Mark Lendvay in response. "Bringing a gun to the airport is an accident waiting to happen."

Harrisburg Airport Gun and Ammunition Confiscated July 2022
The contents of one passenger's carry-on in Harrisburg Airport on Monday, July 4. Photo: TSA

A wet-lettuce response from US authorities

On Monday, a TSA officer at Harrisburg International Airport working the x-ray machine spotted a gun and ammunition in a passenger's carry-on. The man had a .25 caliber handgun loaded with six bullets along with two boxes of ammunition. He was detained, his toys confiscated, and the police alerted.

The TSA says the East Berlin, Pennsylvania, man will be issued a fine. Depending on mitigating or aggravating circumstances, that fine can run up to US$13,900. The TSA notes if the passenger is a member of TSA PreCheck, they'll lose that privilege. Six months in the slammer doesn't seem to be an option.

"Bringing a loaded gun to a security checkpoint is a serious offense," said Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's Federal Security Director at Harrisburg. But not serious enough for anything more than a wet lettuce slap fine.

"Travelers should know better. Guns have been prohibited from being carried onto planes for decades before TSA even existed. So it should be no surprise when someone is stopped at our checkpoint, has their weapon confiscated by police and is then heavily fined by TSA."