It should come as no surprise to anyone reading this that Americans love guns. They love them so much, in fact, that they simply can’t seem to stop bringing loaded ones to airports.
This week, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) shared its annual data on firearms-focused fuckery, revealing that a new record had been set in terms of the sheer volume of intercepted guns. Per the data, 6,737 firearms were found at airport security checkpoints in 2023, marking the highest-ever single year total in the history of the agency.
The agency also noted that the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, long known as the busiest in the country, is the biggest offender in terms of intercepted firearms. In 2023, for example, ATL saw 451 such gun discoveries.
Of 2023's nationwide guns haul, TSA added, roughly 93 percent were loaded at the time they were found. As TSA administrator David Pekoske reminded in the agency's news release on Wednesday, travelers are only allowed to bring guns with them if they are unloaded and properly stored in a case as part of their checked luggage. Additionally, firearms are required to be declared when checking in, prior to beginning the usual security process.
Those who fail to follow these steps are removed from checkpoint areas, at which point they may be arrested by local police, as well as face a possible $15,000 penalty and a five-year revocation of any PreCheck privileges.
On occasion, household names have found themselves caught up in guns-at-the-airport headlines. Latto, for example, was reported by TMZ last March to be on the precipice of finishing up a diversion program in connection with a 2021 loaded gun arrest in Los Angeles. She rapped about the moment in her appearance on Mello Buckzz's "Boom Pt. 2" track, later confirming to fans that the lyrics were indeed inspired by a real-life incident.
