Over 6,700 Americans arrested with guns at airport

Years ago, Michael Lee Evans recalled misplacing a handgun magazine. It startled him when a customs inspector discovered it in one of his suitcase’s pockets. When the 72-year-old Texan found out he would likely spend years in prison for importing weaponry into the Turks and Caicos Islands, he became even more shocked.

When Mr. Evans and his wife, Sharon, were halted at customs at Providenciales International Airport in December, their ideal birthday trip turned into a “nightmare”. After being detained, he was brought to the police station. He became aware of how serious the matter was after speaking with a lawyer.

“Am I in trouble?” Mr Evans enquired. “You’re in a lot of trouble,” the attorney answered.

It is illegal to possess or use firearms or ammunition without a permit in the Turks and Caicos Islands. As a result, Mr. Evans and at least five other Americans have been detained on British soil since December. The travelers all claimed that they had accidentally carried the ammunition. Rep. Victoria Spartz, a Republican from Indiana, provided the same justification following her accusation on June 28 of smuggling an unloaded handgun into Washington Dulles International Airport in Virginia.

Among US tourists, it’s becoming more and more popular. The quantity of firearms captured at American airports has grown annually over the last ten years (with the exception of 2020, when COVID-19 grounded aircraft). Traveling in historic numbers this summer are Americans, and some are even bringing firearms and ammo to the airport.

You are permitted to bring an unloaded firearm and ammo into the United States in the baggage hold as long as you have a protective case. They have to be declared at the check-in desk. According to Alexa Lopez, a TSA spokeswoman, it is against the law and unsafe for agents of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and other travelers to carry them in carry-on luggage.

According to Tim Carey, a legal and policy advisor at Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Gun Violence Solutions, this is not surprising: States are cutting laws while the number of gun owners in America rises. A Gallup poll from 2023 indicates that 30% of adult Americans are gun owners. According to a 2013 survey by the European Commission, it is 5% in Europe.

“Foreign countries are justified in scrutinizing Americans closely when it comes to firearms,” Carey stated. Apart from the Turks and Caicos Islands, Mexico is allegedly seeking five American gun dealers who aid in cross-border gun trafficking, according to Carey.

TSA Errors

Sharitta Grier, a Floridian who was detained upon arrival in Turks and Caicos, breezed through TSA inspections even though she had ammunition in her carry-on luggage. The TSA acknowledges that they did not find the bullets at Orlando International Airport.

Ryan Watson of Oklahoma had a similar experience when he was apprehended in the Turks and Caicos Islands carrying ammunition after evading security at Oklahoma City’s Will Rogers Airport. (Since then, the TSA has modified its protocols and given its agents more training.)

Prior to their December trip, Mr. Evans and his spouse “had no idea” about Turks and Caicos law.

After months of interviews, Michael Lee Evans—who has a number of health issues—was ultimately sentenced to 33 weeks of suspended jail time. Bryan Hagerich, a Pennsylvanian who was also detained in Turks and Caicos, was sentenced to 52 weeks of suspended jail time after spending more than 100 days in an overcrowded jail and emergency rental housing.

GoFundMe initiatives have helped generate money and awareness for the suffering of Americans who have been arrested in the US. The majority of them received suspended sentences and penalties.

A record 6,737 weapons were found at US airport security in 2023, 93% of which were loaded. Between January 1 and March 31, 2024, 1,503 were intercepted by the TSA.

Getting detected carrying a pistol at the airport has repercussions, deliberate or not. The TSA calls the police, but they don’t seize the gun; instead, they may fine you or, depending on your state, press criminal charges that might result in jail time.

Legislative relaxation has consequences

7.5 million Americans bought new firearms in 2019 and 2021. However, most purchasers already own one. Between January 2020 and April 2021, an average of 1.9 million weapons were acquired monthly. Just 300,000 of those were bought by individuals who didn’t already have one.

According to Michael D. Anestis, an executive director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center and a professor at Rutgers School of Public Health, “there are millions of surplus guns in this country that was already awash with them since COVID.” “The likelihood of someone bringing a gun through a TSA checkpoint, whether intentionally or not, increases with the number of guns.”

Any state that want to restrict or regulate the public’s ability to carry firearms may file a lawsuit, according to a 2022 Supreme Court ruling.

According to Carey, “the most pro-gun states have passed laws prohibiting any future regulation or have virtually eliminated all of their regulations.” As a result of laxer rules and storage regulations, “more guns are going to show up where they shouldn’t be.”

According to Carey, all of the travelers detained in Turks and Caicos reside in jurisdictions with lax firearms laws. Gun control organizations claim that states like Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, and Virginia have no storage regulations and no licensing requirements for purchasing firearms.

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