The number of firearms discovered in carry-on luggage at the Boise airport has continued to rise in recent years. This increase aligns with a national trend.
In 2016, a record number of 18 firearms were found in carry-on luggage at the Boise airport. Nationally, a record number of almost 3,400 were discovered in 2016. Regional TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers anticipates this number continuing to grow for 2017.
"So far this year in 2017, here we are not even halfway through the year, and TSA officers have found 12 firearms in passengers’ carry-ons," Dankers says. "So we are on a record-breaking pace. It’s a record that we don’t want to break, but the statistics are what they are and we are going to continue to do our job to keep those items off the plane."
Dankers is unsure why we’re seeing this increase, but she wants travelers to understand there are repercussions for those who try to carry a firearm onto a plane.
"All passengers will be held accountable for the contents of their bag, whether it’s a firearm, certain types of knives, martial arts items, pepper spray, all those shouldn’t be brought in the cabin of an aircraft. And you shouldn’t be bringing them to the security checkpoint," she says.
Each of these incidents is evaluated on a case-by-case basis, as passengers who attempt to bring a firearm through security face the possibility of criminal charges and a civil penalty of up to $7,500.
"Firearms should never be brought to the security checkpoint, people should never have those in their carry-on bags. And even one firearm is one firearm too many," Dankers says.
Gun parts, ammunition, even replicas of firearms are prohibited from carry-on baggage. For the most part, though, these items can be transported through checked baggage.
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