Ga. debates leniency over guns brought to airport

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Ga. debates leniency over guns brought to airport
By RAY HENRY, Associated Press | February 16, 2014 | Updated: February 16, 2014 12:49pm

ATLANTA (AP) — Gary Lawrence usually carries a .22-caliber revolver while out walking his dog in rural Georgia as protection against venomous snakes and coyotes. But he says he learned a hard lesson while rushing to catch a flight at Atlanta's airport last month, the firearm forgotten in the pocket of a heavy coat.

In the security line, he took off his belt, boots and leather coat and placed them on a conveyor belt to the X-ray machine when "all of a sudden, I had about five cops around me." One of the officers asked what was in his coat pocket. "That's when it hit me. I knew what was in my pocket. I just sank. I couldn't deny it. I told him the story," said Lawrence, who has a state-issued license to carry a gun.

Handcuffed, he was escorted away to spend a night in jail, charged with a misdemeanor.

Now gun-friendly lawmakers in Georgia want people licensed to carry a gun to avoid arrest if they accidentally bring their firearms into the security checkpoint at the country's busiest airport and willingly leave the security line. It comes as gun rights groups in Georgia push state lawmakers to broaden the places where people can legally take guns, including churches and bars.


Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Ga-debates-leniency-over-guns-brought-to-airport-5240168.php

[Mr.Bill]

1. If there are any laws where "I forgot"

is a legitimate excuse, bring a gun to a secured area in the airport should not be one of them.

Anyone who can't remember if they have a gun in their pocket is the last person who should be licensed to carry one.

[benh57]

3. Eh, i disagree

Zero tolerance policies and lack of discretion / sanity / common sense in general and especially in TSA policies have got to end.

Yes, he was forgetful but he's not a terrorist. No need to waste state resources locking him up for a simple mistake.

[Mr.Bill]

4. I'm not saying he should do jail time.

He should be arrested, removed from the scene and at the very least never be allowed to be in possession of a gun again. I'm also not saying he is a terrorist, but the presence of that gun was a danger to others. Did he "forget " whether it was loaded or not? or whether the safety was on? That level of irresponsibility should carry consequences.

[seveneyes]

7. Quite severe punishment

With punishment like that, three strikes and felon voting denial fit right in with it.

[Kelvin Mace]

10. Sorry, I must disagree

Bringing a lethal device to an area were such devices are specifically and categorically banned deserves severe punishment. How do we know what his intention were? He claims he forgot. He claims he didn't mean to hurt anyone.

But then, he's white. I somehow doubt a brown person with a funny name would have gotten a night in jail.

"Zero tolerance" laws are all the rage of the kind of whack jobs who want everyone armed to the teeth.

Dr. Frankenstein, The Monster. Monster, Dr. Frankenstein.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

16. So people should be allowed to bring firearms into airports?

Personally, I believe that the police acted properly. As someone said above, "I forgot" is not a defense in the law.

[vkkv]

2. The South has a HISTORY of rewarding "stupid".

Disagree??

[Demit]

5. They can call it The Steve Martin "I Forgot" Law.

Two simple words in the English language

[greymattermom]

6. I went through security at ATL yesterday.

They sent me through a special line where I got to keep my shoes on my feet and laptops in my suitcase. This is the second time I"ve been in that line, on the far right of the security area. It it because I'm old? A frequent flyer? What a difference.

[onehandle]

8. Guns are the Jesus of Gun Culture. nt

[groundloop]

9. I'd like to apologize to the rest of the country for our idiot lawmakers in Georgia

Even most of my right-wing coworkers think this is stupid, anyone who carries a weapon into an airport should at a minimum face a hefty fine. The "I forgot" defense is ridiculous.

[alp227]

11. They'll repeal this once a Muslim retires to benefit from it.

Because TERRORISM!

Also do these bonehead legislators not follow the news? Like the record number of guns in airports? The LAX shooting?

[sarisataka]

12. Being charged with a misdemeanor

sounds pretty lenient already.

The day I forget I am carrying a gun is the last day I will carry one.

[grimjacx]

13. It happens a lot

I've had clients go through this. The county has a special program set up already. As long as you have no prior charges, the charge is dismissed upon completion of community service, paying a fine and taking a firearms course. I understand that the fines from these charges are earmarked for needy families in the county. In my experience, the people involved typically travel a lot by car and put a gun in a bag where it stays for months, until they have to catch a plane and grab their bag and go. Each time, the person remembered it as they were in line and told the security about it, but still had to be arrested and spent the night in jail. I think they should be allowed to leave the line and take it to their car, which they could have done before they got in line. It's not illegal to enter the airport with it. The TSA can also fine the person pretty heavily, but I've not seen that happen.

[Blue_Tires]

14. "protection against venomous snakes and coyotes?"

1. You almost have to be trying to cross paths with a venomous snake to meet up with one (unless he's walking his dog through a hip-deep swamp), and even if you did I don't know if a .22 revolver is your weapon of choice...

2. He knows coyotes don't even attack humans except in the rarest of circumstances, right???

[DeadLetterOffice]

15. My brain is still stuck

on "the firearm forgotten in the pocket of a heavy coat."


Seriously? Who the fuck forgets they have a gun in their pocket?
And if you do forget that you have a gun in your pocket, and you and your pocket go out into the world to someplace like an airport, I'm fairly sure that's a sign that you shouldn't be allowed to own the gun. Or even, possibly, the pocket -- who knows what else you might have forgotten in there?