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Police will now arrest any Atlanta passenger found with loaded and unholstered guns at checkpoints – 95.5 WSB

Gillberg
Police will now arrest any Atlanta passenger found with loaded and unholstered guns at checkpoints – 95.5 WSB

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — As officials prepare for the busy summer travel season, police want to keep guns from showing up at security checkpoints inside the Atlanta airport.

An Atlanta police commander said police have changed their policy to make more arrests.

“This is something new that we implemented. If you bring a firearm to the checkpoint with a round in the chamber and the firearm is not holstered, you will be arrested,” said Maj. Kelley Collier.

“Not only are they breaking the law, but they are also endangering the safety and peace of mind of other passengers,” Collier said.

So far this year, TSA officers at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport have discovered at least 148 weapons at checkpoints, 15 more than the same time last year. That’s more than one every day.

Previously, passengers caught with a loaded gun at security were taken to the airport’s APD station and then cited or fined.

Now, anyone caught with a loaded, unholstered gun will be arrested and taken to the Clayton County Jail. The gun owner would likely be charged with a misdemeanor reckless driving offense, punishable by up to a year in prison or a fine of up to $2,500.

The TSA says you can still check a firearm if it is properly packaged and declared.

“If you must travel with your firearm, it cannot be in your carry-on baggage. It should be in your checked baggage,” says Robert Spinden, TSA’s director of federal security.

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