Within the first six months of 2022, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has confiscated over 3,000 firearms from passengers who were boarding planes.
That works out to nearly 17 firearms per day, the agency says. And it puts the TSA on track to set an all-time record for stopped weapons.
The previous high mark was set last year, when agents intercepted 5,972 firearms.
Air travel, as judged by TSA check-ins, was near 2019 levels over the July 4 holiday, officials say. Over 11 million people were screened—and there’s every indication that the remainder of the summer travel season will be just as busy.
Firearms and ammunition are never allowed on a flight, even if the person carrying them has a concealed carry permit. Attempting to smuggle one on board, even accidentally, can result in civil penalties costing thousands of dollars. (TSA regulations do allow unloaded guns in checked baggage.)
TSA officials have recently expressed frustration with the growing number of people who claim to have forgotten they have a loaded weapon on their person or in their carry-on luggage.
“It’s time people stop claiming to have forgotten they had a loaded gun with them,” said TSA spokesperson Lisa Farbstein via Twitter earlier this month. “They sure know where their cell phones are—just not their deadly weapons. C’mon man!”
Gun purchases accelerated dramatically during the pandemic, with more than 5 million adults becoming first-time gun owners from January 2020 to April 2021. That was more than double the 2.4 million adults who first purchased guns in all of 2019, according to a study on gun ownership.
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