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In this Discussion
That's a wrap! Thanks for a great season. See you all next year!
We should be shooting 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday again next year.
Final schedule to be finalized in February.
We should be shooting 2nd Saturday and 4th Sunday again next year.
Final schedule to be finalized in February.
I said... "I WANT A WINDOW SEAT!" - TSA gun seizures
Snidely Whiplash
A legend in his own mind.
From http://www.meetings-conventions.com/News/Breaking-News/air-traffic-down-gun-seizure-TSA-airport/
Air Traffic Is Down, Gun Seizures Up at U.S. Airports by David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer | August 11, 2020
Dallas (AP) - With air traffic nearing a five-month high, airport security is finding guns in passenger carry-on bags at three times the rate recorded before the pandemic.
And 80 percent of the guns are loaded.
The discoveries at airports come at a time when U.S. gun sales are surging, and analysts believe many of those purchases are being made by first-time buyers.
Officers seized a little more than 300 guns in July, or 15.3 guns for every million people screened, compared with 5.1 per million people in July of last year, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
TSA administrator David Pekoske said there has been a significant increase in loaded guns at checkpoints. He said screeners are already working in conditions of heightened risks and that "no one should be introducing new ones."
The number of loaded guns, Pekoske said, "is just an accident waiting to happen."
Background checks on gun buyers have been rising every month compared with a year earlier since April 2019, but they picked up even faster this year. The number of checks topped 3 million in four of the last five months. They had not exceeded 3 million in one month since December 2015.
FBI figures show that there were more than 3.6 million firearms background checks requested on buyers in July, a 79 percent increase from July 2019, following a 70 percent increase in June.
Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr, who tracks gun sales, said the increases are likely due to fear about COVID-19 lockdowns, civil unrest and former Vice President Joe Biden's lead over President Donald Trump in polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, "given his more restrictive stance on gun control relative to President Trump."
The analyst said an outsized rise in handgun sales in June and July indicates that many purchases are being made by first-time gun owners.
John Donohue, a Stanford University law professor who has served as an expert witness against efforts to weaken gun-control laws in California, said the increased sales are mostly a response to images of protests after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. He also cited warnings by Trump and the National Rifle Association about crime.
"Fear drives a lot of gun sales," he said.
National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said higher gun sales were due to widespread concern that, first because of the pandemic and later because of protests and riots, police might be slower to respond to emergency calls.
"It's a natural reaction," he said.
It is legal to transport guns in checked bags if they are unloaded and in a locked case. The TSA can impose civil penalties and suspend people from faster-screening programs such as TSA PreCheck, but decisions on whether to file criminal charges are usually left to local authorities.
The NRA's Arulanandam said guns show up at airports because "people forget they have a firearm in their handbag or their backpack, and they go to the check-in counter and they realize, 'Look, I forgot I had this in there.'"
Atlanta's major airport had the most gun seizures last month, with 27, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver at 13 each and 12 at the Nashville airport.
Last year, TSA seized a record 4,432 guns in carry-on bags or about 12.1 per day, and 87 percent were loaded.
TSA's public appeal to follow gun rules occurred the same day that it reported screening 831,789 people on Sunday. It was the first time checkpoint traffic in U.S. airports has topped 800,000 since March 17. That is still down 69 percent from the comparable Sunday a year ago.
Air Traffic Is Down, Gun Seizures Up at U.S. Airports by David Koenig, AP Airlines Writer | August 11, 2020
Dallas (AP) - With air traffic nearing a five-month high, airport security is finding guns in passenger carry-on bags at three times the rate recorded before the pandemic.
And 80 percent of the guns are loaded.
The discoveries at airports come at a time when U.S. gun sales are surging, and analysts believe many of those purchases are being made by first-time buyers.
Officers seized a little more than 300 guns in July, or 15.3 guns for every million people screened, compared with 5.1 per million people in July of last year, the Transportation Security Administration said Monday.
TSA administrator David Pekoske said there has been a significant increase in loaded guns at checkpoints. He said screeners are already working in conditions of heightened risks and that "no one should be introducing new ones."
The number of loaded guns, Pekoske said, "is just an accident waiting to happen."
Background checks on gun buyers have been rising every month compared with a year earlier since April 2019, but they picked up even faster this year. The number of checks topped 3 million in four of the last five months. They had not exceeded 3 million in one month since December 2015.
FBI figures show that there were more than 3.6 million firearms background checks requested on buyers in July, a 79 percent increase from July 2019, following a 70 percent increase in June.
Cowen analyst Cai von Rumohr, who tracks gun sales, said the increases are likely due to fear about COVID-19 lockdowns, civil unrest and former Vice President Joe Biden's lead over President Donald Trump in polls ahead of the Nov. 3 election, "given his more restrictive stance on gun control relative to President Trump."
The analyst said an outsized rise in handgun sales in June and July indicates that many purchases are being made by first-time gun owners.
John Donohue, a Stanford University law professor who has served as an expert witness against efforts to weaken gun-control laws in California, said the increased sales are mostly a response to images of protests after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. He also cited warnings by Trump and the National Rifle Association about crime.
"Fear drives a lot of gun sales," he said.
National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said higher gun sales were due to widespread concern that, first because of the pandemic and later because of protests and riots, police might be slower to respond to emergency calls.
"It's a natural reaction," he said.
It is legal to transport guns in checked bags if they are unloaded and in a locked case. The TSA can impose civil penalties and suspend people from faster-screening programs such as TSA PreCheck, but decisions on whether to file criminal charges are usually left to local authorities.
The NRA's Arulanandam said guns show up at airports because "people forget they have a firearm in their handbag or their backpack, and they go to the check-in counter and they realize, 'Look, I forgot I had this in there.'"
Atlanta's major airport had the most gun seizures last month, with 27, followed by Dallas-Fort Worth and Denver at 13 each and 12 at the Nashville airport.
Last year, TSA seized a record 4,432 guns in carry-on bags or about 12.1 per day, and 87 percent were loaded.
TSA's public appeal to follow gun rules occurred the same day that it reported screening 831,789 people on Sunday. It was the first time checkpoint traffic in U.S. airports has topped 800,000 since March 17. That is still down 69 percent from the comparable Sunday a year ago.
----------------
"3.6 million firearms background checks requested on buyers in July" - kind of difficult to reconcile that inconvenient statistic with the liberal/socialist vision of what the public wants.
According to a CNN article, the confiscated guns are turned over to local authorities.
Snidely Whiplash
Comments
"Executive Directors Message Richard Pearson
On Monday, July 20, 2020, the Illinois State Rifle Association (ISRA) and the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) filed suit against the Illinois State Police regarding the delay in issuing new FOID cards. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division, Case 1:20-cv-04270. The ISRA is once again leading the way to protect the Second Amendment Rights in Illinois. We will keep you posted as the case progresses. We are waiting for a court date. If you look into your crystal ball, you see more is coming. If you are not already an ISRA member, you should be. That is the best way you can help in this fight right now. "
From the July 30 ISRA bulletin:
"We are still waiting for a court hearing date on our suit against the Illinois State Police for not issuing new FOID cards in the time required by law. There are many of you who have properly completed the renewal of your FOID card and are outside the time limit receiving it and still have heard nothing. Many of you have contacted the office with the details. Please continue to do that by email and be sure to put your contact information in. Your email will be forwarded to our attorney.
The very same is true for those who have renewed their Illinois Concealed Carry License and are outside the time limit. You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to figure out where the ISRA is taking all of this. Let me say the ISRA is fighting for your Second Amendment Rights. We need your help so if you get this and are not an ISRA member, join today. If you have friends that are not ISRA members get them to join also.
I had an amazing conversation with someone this week asking what he could do to help and I asked him to join. He asked how much it was and I told him $30. He hesitated and said he would have to think about it. I have had this conversation many times before. There are some gun owners who think all the time, money and effort that goes into protecting your Second Amendment Rights just happens by itself. It doesn’t work that way. Freedom isn’t free."