‘Alarming’ Trend: TSA Intercepting Many More Guns Despite Far Fewer Air Travelers

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A Transportation Security Administration officer watches as travelers put their items through an X-ray machine in 2017 at Miami International Airport. The TSA says it’s finding significantly more firearms in carry-on luggage despite a huge drop in air travel.

Wilfredo Lee/AP


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Wilfredo Lee/AP


The Coronavirus Crisis
Pandemic And Protests Spark Record Gun Sales

While the reason for the sudden upsurge is not clear, gun sales have skyrocketed since the beginning of the year, «especially following COVID-related outbreaks and shutdowns and many large protests against the police,» Daniel W. Webster, a professor at Johns Hopkins University’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, told NPR in an email.

Based on estimates derived from pre-purchase background checks, July marked the second-highest month on record for U.S. gun sales, he noted.

«So the same fear of victimization related to COVID and protests against the police could be spurring more people to routinely carry guns outside the home, including when they go to get on a plane,» Webster told NPR.

  • guns on planes
  • TSA

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