TSA, tracking a continual rise of gun seizures at airport security checkpoints since 2010, is forecasting 2017 numbers to be triple that of 2010, according to a Washington Examiner report.
"The No. 1 excuse that people give us for why they have their gun with them at a checkpoint is that they forgot that they had their gun with them; the second-most common excuse is that their husband or wife packed their bag," TSA Acting Director of Media Relations Lisa Farbstein told the Examiner. "Neither of those excuses fly."
Through the first six months of 2017, TSA's 44,000 gate agents have collected 1,861 guns. If the seizure rate continues then the year-long total would be 3,722, which would top the record 3,391 seizures in 2016, according to the report.
There were just 1,123 guns confiscated by TSA gate agents in 2010, according to the agency.
U.S. air travel laws require guns to unloaded and locked in a hard-sided container in checked baggage only. All parts including ammunition is required to be declared at airport check-in before heading to security with the penalty of arrest and a fine up to $11,000.
This past January, a gunman killed five and injured many more at Fort Lauderdale International Airport in Florida, having checked his gun in baggage and retrieving it in baggage claim before going on a deadly shooting spree.
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