Missing Guns
A story that was brewing in the background (FOP has it on their website) has finally hit the news. Channel 2, Channel 5, Channel 7 coverage.
It is undetermined whether all the guns reported missing at O'Hare were stolen there or at their destination airports. In Chicago, the only people who would know a gun is packed in a particular piece of luggage would work either for the T.S.A. or for the airline that checked the bag.
Many baggage handlers hired by United said they are dissatisfied with their working conditions and pay. They are paid about $7 an hour and do not receive tips and complain they have not had a raise in years.
Is anyone really surprised by any of this? Criminals have had a free rein for years stealing all sorts of stuff from airports - or are we the only ones who remember the movie "Goodfellas" where Idlewild Airport was one of the biggest moneymakers for organized crime cartage thefts and assorted other mischief. It's the same today, it just doesn't make the papers as often. Railyards are the same way.
So how to travel with a gun anymore? Drive. Ship it to your destination. Place all tags indentifying firearms inside your luggage instead of outside. Or don't bring a gun. You can't lose what you don't take with you. Or don't travel. It's a harsh world out there and risking losing your gun is part of the equation - choose wisely.
So how to travel with a gun anymore? Drive. Ship it to your destination. Place all tags indentifying firearms inside your luggage instead of outside. Or don't bring a gun. You can't lose what you don't take with you. Or don't travel. It's a harsh world out there and risking losing your gun is part of the equation - choose wisely.
posted by SCC at 12:05 AM
9 Comments:
This has been happening for years. United started puttin gun sticker inside the suitcase in about 1997? Never pack your pistol You used to be able to break it down and acrry it in a camera bag (pieces anyway) and carry the rest in your suitcase. Not with security today. I think it is also against the law to send a weapon through the mail unless you have a FFL. (not sure though)
Would you trust the post office to get it to where you needed it to go? Not sure if I would.
Let me see if I have this right.
You check your gun, the bag is marked and passed through security.
The gun is removed from the bag in the secured area of the airport.
While all of the above is taking place, Ali Salob Albaba passes through security to board a plane to points anywhere.
Later, while in the secured area Skeeter the baggage handler passes the gun to Ali. Now Ali boards his plane.
My point to all of this is, that WGN news quoted "officals" that stated there is no threat to the
traveling public.
If "officals" tell you the sky isn't falling I would run for cover.
I generally fly American. Never had a problem. This shit worries me though.....
What I do is this:
Take the guns and put them in a metal toolbox. Lock it with a combo lock (like on your bike).
Put the box in my bag (A roll-around). Put the stupid TSA lock on the hasp.
Go to ORD. Avoid the curbside checking inside. Get my boarding pass from the machine. Weigh in. Tell the girl that "I have something to declare".
She gives me 2 tickets that I sign, date, flight number, and printed name. One ticket goes into the toolbox. the other in my wallet.
Now for the fun part: Go see TSA. Tell them what I got to declare. SOMETIMES they look in the toolbox (ORD)or(MIA). Other times they do not (FLL).
Sometimes they look inside, and verify the weapons are unloaded. TSA dude X-rays the bag, and hand carries it to the conveyor.
Nothing is posted outside the bag indicating the contents.
When I get to the destination, I do the "O.J." through the airport and get to the claim area to snatch the bag as it exits the cargo area.
Been to Florida 4-5 times over the last few years with the snubbie that I carry (pre HR218 notwithstanding) and a few funs that I take to one of the ranges that I go to down there.
If you are a shooter (Pay attention Jimmy Peck!) Go to the Tropical Shooting Sports Association website at:
www.tssa.net
They have lots of fun stuff to do while the little lady is emptying your walletr at the Adventura Mall!
Stay safe, and remember: "An armed society is a polite society".
losing a firearm is the least of my concerns when flying the new leaner lower wage airlines of today.
how motivated would you be if you were forced to give back wages, benifits and even your pension ?
the pilots and mechanics must now be somewhat preocupied with financial obligations made in better times.
next time you board a plane think about the above and feel the pucker.
I flew to VA for a shooting comp and brought 3 pistols with me stored to BATF standards. When you hit the counter you have to declare the weapons to the lady at the desk. Then you have to show them to her, proving that they are not loaded. Then she says have a nice day and gives you a slip that has to be given to the captain. Here is the kicker, I went to the TSA screening area and the TSA asked me if there were firearms in the box and I stated yes. He then tells me to give him the combination to the breifcase so he can see inside of it. I told him no, u have an x-ray machine. Needless to say we started arguing then he called for a supervisor and I called for a CPD one. I had the printed rules from the BATF and it said the only person that it had to be opened for was the desk lady, or whatever they call them, ticket agent. I ended up winning. Like I am gonna let some 7 dollar an hour mutt who thinks he is a cop go into my weapons box. He must have been out of his mind. If you do end up travelling and want the link go to:
http://www.atf.gov/firearms/100804tsaeducation.htm
I learned years, if not decades ago, you don't fly out of O'Hare with a gun. Use Milwaukee, Springfield, or Indianapolis as your point of origin or return, but screw O'Hare.
I have flown out of Midway a couple of times. It was relatively painless the first time. Second time though I went through the process smoothly all the way even waiting until the guncase went through the x-ray machine and recieved the thumbs up from the clerk. Went ahead and went through checkpoints and walking to terminal, when I hear my name on loudspeaker.----SH*T! The wife hates when I bring my gun anyway, so I have the bit*hing to look forward to when abd if I return.
Turns out since I bring an auto and a snubbie I put both types of rounds in the same ammo carton, the TSA thought I just had loose rounds rolling around in my guncase.
As an aside how many coppers get the static from your spouse when you carry when you are with her
How incompetent is the TSA? How secure are we? Imagine in this country right now people are arriving at airports with shampoo, hand lotion,tooth paste whatever. So the brilliant TSA is making them pour out the contents of any liquids instead of bringing it on the plane. Anybody see a problem here with the way they are handling these liquids? What if it is some kind of chemical cocktail now the TSA just allowed it to be spread throughout the airport. Thank God the British and other foreign countries are actually looking and screening for terrorists because our TSA is too busy taking away nail files and toothpaste to know what a terrorist is.
I drove down South, moving a family member, and I decided to do this armed. Coming back by plane, I had a gun storage box, declared it at the ticket counter. They
xeroxed all my Dept. ID's, placed the gun box in my suitcase. When I deplaned at O"Hare I immediately
grabbed my suitcase, went to the men's room and armed myself for the blue line ride home.
I'm getting ready to take another trip soon, and I'm wondering if it's worth the trouble to pack the pistol, with all the other nonsense going on in these planes.
Might be worth it to simply leave it home this trip.
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