Guns Seized at Airport Destroyed

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BarryLee

New member
The County Solicitor in Clayton County, Georgia the location of Atlanta Hartsfield International Airport has announced all guns seized at the airport will be destroyed. So, far this year 62 people have been arrested for attempting to pass through security checkpoints with firearms in their bags. Almost always the excuse is, “I forgot it was there”. So, if they are convicted or plead guilty their gun is destroyed.

Two things I found interesting:

Is it legal to seize and destroying someone’s personal property for violating this regulation?

Also, hard to believe how many folks forgot they had a handgun in their bag.

http://www.ajc.com/news/clayton/want-your-gun-back-1220584.html
 
Is it legal to seize and destroying someone’s personal property for violating this regulation?
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Sure. If you violate narcotics laws, you think they just keep your seized stash around forever? If you don't pick up your car from impound, after so long it can be sold.

I'm not sure how you could forget where you put your gun. Article doesn't state whether or not the weapons were loaded or not - not that it legally matters.
 
See I take this in a different light than your "drug stash". IMO this is more of a "They towed your truck for being on a non motor vehicle trail, then won't let you get it back even after paying the fees and they destroy it too" type of thing.

This is the destruction of private property. I am trying to think of another crime besides drug crimes with similar consequences; beyond assets being seized in a drug or racketeering case and being destroyed I just cannot think of another precedence where otherwise legally owned property is destroyed. Are the crimes these people are typically charged with Felonies or misdemeanors? I imagine they can't ALL be felonies so unless GA has some odd gun laws I don't think that would DQ someone outright from owning firearms. Though...

Should people who can’t remember they have a gun in a bag going through an airport be permitted to own a gun? That’s another matter
 
"If one is that carelesss he deserves to lose his gun."

Personally, I carry my Kimber wherever I may go. And yes, I sometimes forget it's there. But.... I believe that either you carry your sidearm fulltime or not at all. There is no such thing as "part time protection" IMO.

You see, my friend and I were jumped by some members of the Aryan Brotherhood ( He worked as a corrections officer at the time ) he was stabbed several times and almost died. During this whole event, my five year old daughter was watching! We were just heading down to the pool and all hell broke loose. My daughter watched as they beat me with a tire tool and NOBODY helped. Sure, they caught these thugs..but, this doesn't change the fact that my .45 was at home! Never again..

My friend did his job and turned some of their friends in for drugs..etc in prison and we all almost lost our lives..
Just thought I'd share that
 
Simple reality is it a federal violation to try and take a firearm past that check point. If you carry all the time it shouldn't be "Oops I forgot" it should be "holy crap checkpoint, did I bring my gun with me".

They are basically doing what Cali does for people caught street racing. You get caught in cali racing your car on public roads it goes to the compacter. Same thing really.

So ya, I don't feel that bad for someone who breaks federal law and then has to deal with the penalties.
 
Is this checked luggage or carry on? If it's carry on, yeah, you deserve to lose it.

If it's checked luggage, that is a real problem.
 
IMO this is more of a "They towed your truck for being on a non motor vehicle trail, then won't let you get it back even after paying the fees and they destroy it too" type of thing.
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I was thinking along the lines of car towed and impounded due to unpaid tickets, registration, et cetera - car not picked up within 72 hours, car goes to auction, and you still owe the towing company/city money.

If you carry all the time it shouldn't be "Oops I forgot" it should be "holy crap checkpoint, did I bring my gun with me".
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That would be my inclination, similar theory as no gun signs on a building that you must enter - do it anyways (armed), get caught, pay consequences.
 
was thinking along the lines of car towed and impounded due to unpaid tickets, registration, et cetera - car not picked up within 72 hours, car goes to auction, and you still owe the towing company/city money.
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The way I am reading the story though it is "Don't bother picking up the car, we are destroying it" not you have X number of days to pick it up.
 
I don't believe the goverment has any right to destroy any personal property as long as said property is legal to possess/own.

No matter what you used it for.
 
This is more unsettling than the number of people who actually make it onto the plane with their guns.
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I try not to think about it, when you start to think about things it really is scary. I live near a smaller chicago area airport(not O'hare or Midway) that has many Gulf Stream/ Leer etc jets. The only security is a 6' chain link fence, the fence has gaps and the airport has no visible security...
 
I don't believe the goverment has any right to destroy any personal property as long as said property is legal to possess/own.
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Zero tolerance policy, likely.

I try not to think about it, when you start to think about things it really is scary.
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Probably best, flew to Florida a few years back and walked through the door, through security, through the terminal to the bar, and on the plane with a 12oz bottle of water in my back pocket. Had forgotten about it (not the same as forgetting about your gun), but how did they know it wasn't lighter fluid, acid, or Tabun for that matter?
 
If that bottle of water was before the "liquid, creams, pastes and gels" ban, say.... 5 or 6 years ago.... No one would have cared about a bottle of water.
 
The funny thing is my favorite belt sets off SOME metal detectors but has NEVER set off the O'Hare metal detector....I don't know why this is, don't know how this is but that is a curious little thing. They also have never questioned my wife about her Diabetic supplies, I suppose someone could convert some of those for ill use too. I'll tell you what, we are all screwed the day someone sets off a keister bomb or a breast implant bomb....



Back on topic: IMO someone who has a loaded gun in a carry on bag probably should not own firearms or atleast not be CCing. A gun is not a lighter or a bottle of water, it is a gun. I can see how someone out of habbit might forget to take off their CC gun, might forget something small like a bullet or even a magazine in a bag but a whole gun is another thing. When you have a collection of hundreds of guns I can see how keeping track of them could be an issue but in this day and age you need to dot your i's and cross your t's before packing a carry on bag.


The best stories though are the times someone has an ND showing the bag check people their checked hunting rifle is not loaded....
 
I worked as a security guard at that airport (Atlanta) waaaaaaay back in the 70's while going to college. I personally caught 4 people with guns either in their pocket or in their bag, including a stewardess who didn't have to go through the metal detectors.

One guy had his in his back pocket and was just seeing his young kid to the plane (back when you could do that); another lady arrived "fashionably late" to check her luggage, so they brought it all through as carry-ons (back when you could do that also) - except her 44 mag was in one.

In both cases, the folks were arrested by APD, hauled away, and prosecuted.

For the stewardess, she was by-passing security since she was flight crew (back when that was allowed), and her little 25 fell out of her purse when she dropped it looking for her ID badge. I called over the cop, she said she was going to Detroit on her flight, the cop told her to put it away and have a safe time............

The last guy also had cocaine wrapped in foil, strapped to his leg while trying to go through the metal detector......they loved catching him
 
Multiple Jurisdictions

http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/assistant/editorial_1666.shtm

The above link is to the TSA site that provides the rules for checking a firearm.

As far as people that get caught with a gun in their carry-on bag, there are multiple layers of regulation as best I can tell and it seems that it is a judgment call as to how severally punished a person is going to be as far as which agency is going to prosecute.

For example, I once represented a client that inadvertantly left a gun in her carry-on bag, pre-9/11. The consequences for her were: she missed her flight; she got arrested; she forfeited the gun and she agreed to a finding of a violation of a City Ordinance meaning that it was a civil infraction that resulted in a nominal fine.

I'd imagine that under the right set of circumstances where the offender isn't named Daisy but Drackar they might end up convited of a felony.
 
"Zero tolerance policy, likely."

I still don't understand what that has to do with their right to destroy or take possession of your legal personal property..
 
I'm not a lawyer nor do I play one on TV - But figured I'd comment on this. Maybe I'm wrong - maybe not but if there's a lawyer around maybe they could answer.

A while back there was a big news article (at least in my neck of the woods) where more and more Govt agencies (local cops and such) were doing seizures. The article stated that it was because they were starting to see larger deficits and needed to generate income (through auctions of the seized goods). They stated in the article (if i'm remembering correctly) that it was perfectly legal for them to do it because of the way the laws were written on seizure.

The way the article explained the law was that any personal property that was used in the commission of a crime could be seized by LE. This meant that if you were driving around with widgets (widgets can be any illegal object) in your trunk they could take your car. If you were aiding and abetting a criminal and hiding them in your home they could take your house. Pretty much any use of a legal item in the commission of a crime made that item fair game for them to seize.

So - this would tie to this in the fact that while the gun they were carrying was completely legal for them to have. It was against the law for them to try and take it through the security checkpoint. Once they broke the law, the personal property became fair game for them to seize and subsequently sell, destroy, or hang on the wall and look at.


My personal opinion is that if they were in the commission of a crime and it is legal for the LE to be doing it. Then they have no gripe about it because they should have remembered that they had the gun on them. A moment of pure thought would have reminded them what they needed to be without when they got to the checkpoint. And i'm sure there are signs somewhere that says what items will be confiscated if you try to take them through the checkpoint.
 
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