Pennsylvania’s United States Attorney’s Offices and the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association Join Forces to Educate the Traveling Public About Safe Firearms Transport | USAO-WDPA

PITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania – The Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western, Central, and Eastern Counties of Pennsylvania are joining forces this holiday season to educate air travelers on the safe and proper way to transport firearms, thereby reducing the risk and delay for the traveling public.

Pennsylvania Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials are well on their way to seizing a record number of firearms at Pennsylvania Airport security checkpoints in 2021, despite a sharp cut in air traffic due to the pandemic. Most of the firearms seized by the TSA are loaded. Firearms at security checkpoints pose a serious security risk to the public and TSA officials. Passengers bringing firearms to security checkpoints also disrupt the security screening process and delay travelers from reaching their departure gates.

The number of air travelers is expected to increase over the next six weeks, so it is important that the public hear this news now. Responsible gun owners can protect the public by personally and carefully checking that their hand luggage does not contain firearms.

“As the law enforcement agency that processes licenses for carriage in the Commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Sheriffs support the rights of the Second Amendment. An overwhelming majority of Pennsylvanians licensed to operate a gun are responsible gun owners who comply with all state and federal laws, including not knowing that a gun will not be taken on an airplane. We appreciate the concerns of US attorneys about concealed weapons and we look forward to working with them to bring this matter to your attention. So we encourage all gun owners to double and triple check their carry-on baggage to make sure you haven’t forgotten to remove guns, “said Joseph Groody, president of the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association, who also serves as Schuylkill County Sheriff.

“By partnering with the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association to increase awareness and education about the safe transportation of weapons, we aim to reduce the number of firearms seized at airport security checkpoints. At the same time, we will pursue all options to protect the traveling public and TSA employees, including prosecution and referring holders of concealed carry permits to the appropriate sheriff, “said US attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, US Middle District of Pennsylvania District Attorney John C. Gurganus and Acting US Attorney Stephen R. Kaufman of the Western District of Pennsylvania in a joint statement.

In October, acting US attorney Kaufman announced a deterrent to reduce the number of guns at security checkpoints at Pittsburgh International Airport. In addition to possible criminal charges and high civil penalties, passengers with weapons in their hand luggage could be denied permission to carry weapons undercover as a result of negligence. As a result of the collaboration between the Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association and the U.S. Attorney General’s offices, county sheriffs in all 67 counties have agreed to provide permit holders with information about the safe transportation of weapons and referral from federal agencies to a possible revocation of the perpetrator’s concealment to check authorization carry with you.

Passengers are allowed to travel with firearms in their checked baggage if they have been properly packed and declared at the airline’s ticket counter. Firearms must be unloaded, placed in a case closed with hard sides and packed separately from the ammunition. The locked suitcase must then be brought to the airline’s check-in counter for declaration. Learn more at https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transportingfirearms-and-munition.

The TSA can impose a civil penalty of $ 3,000 to $ 13,910 on travelers bringing guns to security checkpoint. Civil law sanctions apply to travelers with or without a concealed carry of firearms permit, as a person may be concealed but not permitted to carry a firearm on an airplane.

The Pennsylvania Sheriffs’ Association is dedicated to maintaining the venerable office of sheriff in Pennsylvania and to assisting the 67 County Sheriffs of the Commonwealth with the education and training required by law enforcement officers. More information about the organization can be found at https://pasheriffs.org/.

https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/pennsylvania-s-united-states-attorney-s-offices-and-pennsylvania-sheriffs-association