Formed in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Transportation Security Administration spent $57.2 billion in its first two years to hire screening officers and add technology to stop people from bringing guns, knives and explosives onto an airplane.
Since then, liquids, gels and aerosols were banned after a plot by terrorists to detonate liquid explosives was foiled. Advanced X-ray screening was added in 2010 after an extremist tried to detonate an improvised explosive device concealed in his underwear.
Plans are in the works to expand the use of facial recognition and three-dimensional imaging technology to screen the nearly 2 million passengers who travel through U.S. airports each day.
Despite the efforts, during the first three-quarters of this year, 5,072 guns were seized at airports nationwide, according to the TSA. At the current rate, agency officials say the number will surpass last year's record of 6,542 firearms confiscated.
It's been a record year closer to home, too.
'It is Absolutely Irresponsible'
On Christmas Day, TSA agents at Pittsburgh International Airport seized the 44th gun of the year, nine more than the previous record year in 2019, when 35 firearms were confiscated.
Karen Keys-Turner, TSA's security director at the Moon facility, repeatedly questions the responsibility of a gun owner who can't remember they have a gun when they are about to board an airplane.
"When someone purchases an online ticket, they are required to acknowledge that they have read a screen which states guns are prohibited," she said. "We have large signs in the terminal that indicate no guns are permitted.
"And there is a tablet at the checkpoint that offers a final warning that guns are not permitted. It is absolutely irresponsible of these gun-toting individuals to ignore the warnings over and over again."
Federal officials previously have warned that people caught with a gun at the airport could lose their concealed carry permits.
But they don't have the authority to revoke concealed carry permits, which are regulated by a state law that does not list violating airport security rules among the reasons for taking a permit away.
Despite the inability to take direct action to revoke a permit, federal officials still think it's one of the solutions to the problem.
Some action, at least in Pennsylvania, is in the works.
State Rep. Dan Frankel, D- Squirrel Hill, is introducing the TSA Firearm Compliance Act, a measure that would revoke the concealed carry permits of anyone who is caught with a firearm at a TSA checkpoint.
"It's time to look at solutions with teeth, which could serve to prevent these dangerous events from happening, and also identify firearm owners who may not be qualified to carry a deadly weapon in public," Frankel said. "This legislation is not designed to punish the majority of responsible gun owners but to crack down on the irresponsible ones whose actions put fellow travelers at risk.
"It's time to send the minority of bad actors a message they will hear loud and clear — transport your firearm safely or risk losing your permit to carry."
Previous Attempts to Crack Down
In October, Eric Olshan, the U.S. attorney in Pittsburgh, announced an agreement between the four U.S. attorneys in the state and the Pennsylvania Sheriffs' Association to consider pulling the concealed carry permits for people stopped at an airport with a gun.
The sheriff of each county is responsible for processing applications for concealed carry permits and conducting a criminal background check before one is issued. In Philadelphia, the police chief handles issuing the permits.
Getting a concealed carry permit requires meeting more requirements than just buying a gun. The application for a permit excludes anyone convicted of a crime punishable by a year in jail, which is the penalty for a second-degree misdemeanor in Pennsylvania.
The state, however, does not require applicants to take a class or undergo special training to get a license to carry a gun, which has to be renewed every five years.
Second-degree misdemeanors include shoplifting, marijuana possession, impersonating a public servant, bigamy, resisting arrest and indecent exposure. Depending on the severity of the crime, or in the case of repeat offenders, the charges can be filed as felonies.
October's announcement that the state's 67 elected county sheriffs were on board with the renewed effort to stop the flow of guns showing up at airport checkpoints supports Frankel's position that people who can't keep track of their guns should lose the privilege of carrying one hidden in their waistband, jacket or purse when they go out in public.
But the agreement to review permits is not a commitment that they will be revoked by sheriffs, who are independently elected officials.
Allegheny County Sheriff Kevin Kraus said he will only revoke a concealed carry permit when someone is caught at the airport with a gun if there is a law to back up his decision.
"I will revoke a license to carry a firearm if it meets the statutory criteria for a revocation," he said in a written statement to the Trib. "I review each case on an individual basis to determine if any additional factors are relevant for consideration to grant a revocation request."
He will not cancel a permit if the only reason is punishment.
"If I'm requested to revoke a permit as a deterrent, such action would appear to be punitive, and I do not believe that is good government policy," Kraus said.
Kraus said that county sheriffs can revoke a permit when someone brings a gun into a school or court building because the law prohibits guns in those locations.
Without adding airports to that law, people who lose their permit for that reason could argue that a sheriff doesn't have the legal right to revoke their permit, Kraus said.
"That type of revocation would be overturned on appeal," he said.
Several attorneys with expertise in gun laws warn that unless getting stopped at a TSA checkpoint is spelled out in the law regulating who is allowed to carry a concealed weapon, sheriffs who revoke a permit for that reason could end up in court defending their decision.
"If the person isn't charged with a crime, then the only vehicle a county sheriff would have for revoking the permit is the subsection of the law that deals with whether the character and reputation of the person indicates that they are likely to be a danger to the public," said Pittsburgh lawyer Marc D. Daffner. "But I think they would be on shaky ground if they use that argument to revoke a permit."
In addition to conducting criminal background checks before issuing a concealed carry permit, state law requires that county sheriffs rule out whether "an individual whose character and reputation is such that the individual would be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety."
But coming up with a profile for such a person without more specific language may not be so simple, Daffner said.
"If a little old lady with no criminal history is stopped with a gun at the airport, and she tells police that it's been in her purse for 30 years and she forgot about it, is her character such that she is a danger to the public?" he said.
"I don't know if any sheriff is going to want to be in the position of deciding if someone's character is good enough for them to carry a firearm," Daffner said. "At the very least, they need to amend the crime code to include a definition of the type of character a person must have to get a permit."
Daffner said lawmakers can help sheriffs avoid lawsuits that are difficult to defend by adding language to the law stating there is a presumption that anyone caught with a gun at an airport checkpoint is presumed to be a danger to public safety and should lose their privilege to carry a concealed weapon.
Attorney Phil DiLucente agrees the current state law is too vaguely worded to provide useful guidance for the multiple law enforcement agencies already involved in airport gun cases.
He thinks asking sheriffs to review the permits adds a third layer to a system that provides little guidance for the decisions they will be asked to make.
"Pennsylvania lawmakers need to codify this as soon as possible to give clear directions, not only to the public, but to law enforcement officers and the sheriffs," he said.
While the state's largest gun control advocacy group focuses most of its attention on addressing ways to reduce violent crimes involving guns, they think holding gun owners accountable when they act irresponsibly is an important step toward protecting public safety.
"It's not unreasonable to expect gun owners to know that they can't have a gun with them on the plane, which means you don't bring it to the airport unless it's been packed properly and declared," said Adam Garber, executive director of CeaseFirePA.
"I don't think you can call yourself a responsible gun owner and then be shocked when the alarm goes off at the airport because you didn't even know it was in your bag," he said.
Garber said TSA screeners already face enough challenges without the added danger of a gun accidentally going off when it is placed on the conveyor.
"If people don't know the rules or can't follow them, then they should face consequences," he said. "Losing the privilege of having a gun permit could be a way to remind people to know what's in their bags."
But Jim Stoker, president of the Firearm Owners Against Crime Institute, said creating a law to punish people for memory lapses is the wrong approach to dealing with the problem.
"I don't think we should criminalize people for being forgetful," he said. "They're not threatening anybody or endangering someone's life. They are making a mistake."
Stoker pointed out that getting a concealed carry permit requires a background check and a determination by a county sheriff that the applicant is not a danger to society.
That doesn't change just because they were forgetful as they rushed to the airport to make a flight, he said.
"These are good people who made a mistake. They're not trying to harm somebody or hijack the plane," Stoker said. "Even responsible people make mistakes. That's why we have things like the ARD program to give them a second chance."
ARD, or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition, gives first-time DUI offenders the opportunity to remove the charge from their record by completing a program of court-ordered requirements.
Stoker said airports also could do a better job of reminding passengers about the prohibition against guns on airplanes.
"If it's an important issue, then why are the reminders only posted when people get to a checkpoint?" he said. "Maybe they should put signs at the main entrance to remind people.
"I don't care if they have to make the sign neon so it catches people's attention. They should be looking at those kind of things before they start talking about taking a gun permit away from somebody."
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