More passengers are attempting to bring more guns on planes. That’s the disturbing new claim from the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) as we get ready for our Fourth of July holiday travel.
According to an Associated Press report this week, TSA screeners are finding more and more guns on people attempting to board planes — with a 30 percent increase in guns being found in carry-on bags in the first six months of 2013.
In one particularly disturbing week in May, the TSA set a new record for the most guns seized in one week. Of the 65 guns confiscated, 45 were loaded.
Worst news of all? The previous week’s record of 50 guns confiscated was set only two weeks earlier.
As the 911 terror attacks fade into the past and people focus on their summer vacations, travelers are apparently getting a little more careless about what they’re packing. In a rather imaginative effort to remind people to clean out their bags before they get to the airport and enter a security line, the TSA recently fired up a new Instagram feed that offers a snapshot look at the catch of the day.
It’s definitely worth a look.
Here’s a very arty photograph of a gun caught going out of Austin:
A loaded gun complete with ammunition was found on a carry-on bag outbound from Indianapolis in this June 29 image:
But it can’t be all guns all the time. How about a bayonet, a grenade, or a throwing knife — all present in this July 1 picture:
As for me, I’ve already learned my lesson. I no longer keep the same packed carry-on for the plane and the car trips.
No, sports fans, I haven’t gotten caught with any semi-automatic weapons. But I don’t really need to be stopped and interrogated again over any more forbidden tubes of toothpaste either.
What’s your reaction to the TSA report that more careless passengers are forgetting and attempting to board more planes with more guns?
[TSA photos via Instagram]
[image by alterfalter via Shutterstock ]
