No one likes the TSA rules, mainly because they are not logical. That said, if you are planning on flying you need to abide by them or you simply will not get on the plane. Because of this I just grin and bear it in order to get pushed through the line faster and get where I need to go.
Fellow gun blogger SaysUncle is trying a different approach though:
I’m going to get all absolutist at the ticket counter today. They’re going to ask me to certify that my checked firearm is unloaded. I will say all firearms are always loaded. Then they’ll have to call some one from the local police to handle the weapon. Then, they’ll ask me to certify that it is unloaded again. I will say all firearms are always loaded. And we’ll be stuck in a loop. (Source)
Now don’t get me wrong.. in a normal everyday situation outside of an airport I’d see that as a perfect opportunity to go all “Jeff Cooper” on someones ass too.
At an airport though, where even a 3.1 oz bottle of handsanitizer in a carryon is a threat to national security… I’d play their stupid game.
Otherwise it might be:
“Yes sir/ma’am my firearm is unloaded” is probably your safest bet.
Godspeed SaysUncle… Godspeed
Comments
9 responses to “Flying With Guns”
I don’t think the TSA will find his philosophical standpoint as amusing as we do.
@Henry
I’d be more surprised to find a TSA agent intelligent enough to even know what you’re talking about.
While I’d agree TSA doesn’t seem to set the IQ bar real high for their enforcers, the big issue is, this isn’t their problem. They are method actors in security theatre…you need to talk to their bosses about sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves.
This is kind of stupid. There’s certainly a difference between treating all guns as if they’re loaded (for safety purposes), and proclaiming that all guns are always loaded. The former makes you sound like a wise and careful, safety-minded person; the latter makes you sound like an imbecile that doesn’t understand that it is possible to unload and clear a weapon. If a person repeatedly insisted that all firearms are always loaded, and refused to acknowledge that it could be otherwise, maybe that person’s weapon should be confiscated pending a psychiatric review, or a test of firearms competency.
As the saying goes “It’s always the unloaded gun that kills.” That’s why every gun in my house is always loaded.
This kind of situation calls for a “guns are always loaded, except when they actually aren’t” concession.
I’m having trouble conceiving of an individual so slavishly devoted to rules that they would get stuck in this hypothetical loop… who doesn’t already work for government. It would be interesting to see a TSA commisa…er…employee try o navigate this conflict. Petty statist goons.
I hate the TSA. Last time I flew to Idaho, I brought my S&W with me. I tell the ru-tard at the front that I need to check a weapon. She says ‘Excuse me?’ I say, ‘I need to check a weapon.’ Once again, she is confused. ‘A firearm’, I say, ‘I need to check a firearm.’ She tell me ‘will you be carrying this onboard with you?’ I ask her if she is giving me that option. Again, she says ‘excuse me?’ and I say ‘My firearm. Are you giving me the option to carry it onboard?’ Then she says she needs to get a supervisor.
He walks up, and I say ‘I need to check a weapon’, and he says ‘ok no problem’ and we go into the back room where he checks to make sure it is unloaded, and off I go.
TSA = Derp.
wow.. DERP is right.