The maximum fine for firearm violations will be increased due to a record number of guns at the airport. There has been a surge in air travel and gun sales.
The agency said that it had stopped more than 6,000 guns from entering the country. The administration expects to intercept about 6,600 guns in carry-on bags by the end of the year, a 10 percent increase over the previous record of 5,962.
In order to reduce the threat of firearms at checkpoint, the maximum fine for a firearms violation has been increased.
The administrator of the T.S.A. said in a statement that a passenger bringing a gun to the checkpoint could pose a threat to transportation security.
The announcement came three months after the agency said that it was on the verge of breaking the record again.
Since 2010, the number of firearm intercepts by the T.S.A. has increased every year.
If the weapons are unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container, passengers can bring guns in checked baggage. At the check-in counter, passengers must bring their guns with them. Even if a passenger has a concealed weapon permit, guns are not allowed in carry on bags.
There have been thousands of accidents in the last few years. If travelers have not traveled since the start of the Pandemic, they may not know the rules for carrying firearms on planes.
Most people are not doing it with malice. "They're forgetting."
According to David Fitz, a spokesman for the T.S.A., the most common reason passengers bring a firearm into a checkpoint is that they forgot it.
There has been an increase in gun sales in the country in the last few years.
In parts of the country where open carry and concealed weapons permits are higher, there has been an increase in gun intercepts.
The T.S.A. didn't reply to a question about how many guns made it through airport security. Several hundred guns made it past the T.S.A. checkpoint, according to a 2020 study.
A gun was accidentally discharged at Atlanta's international airport last year. When a T.S.A. officer opened a bag to look for a suspicious item, a man lunged into the bag and grabbed a gun, which fired.
The second time in a little over a year, Representative Madison Cawthorn, Republican of North Carolina, tried to bring a loaded gun through an airport security checkpoint.
The T.S.A. doesn't seize a gun at a checkpoint. The agents are told to call the law enforcement to take the weapon away. The T.S.A. can impose a fine if a passenger is caught with a gun.
If someone forgets that they have a gun with them, then deterrence won't make a difference.
He said it was not the item that was the problem. The intent of the person with the gun is what matters.
Lawmakers and airport officials debated how to approach the issue.
The president of the Airport Law Enforcement Agencies Network and the police chief of the Port of Portland in Oregon said at the hearing that he supported increased fines because they are rarely, if ever, imposed and not serving as a deterrent.
He thinks the civil penalties should be raised to make an impact.
The general manager of the Atlanta International Airport supported increased fines at the hearing and made other recommendations, including requiring violators to attend gun safety training.
This is an issue that needs to be addressed across the country.
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