Roger Eichhorn wrote:
I'm surprised that they allow guns at all. Hell, they don't even allow cigarette lighters!
Not into the cabin; but most airlines do allow them in checked luggage, when properly checked in at the ticket counter. Both handguns and long guns.
Too many people need to travel with a gun for the airlines to block it; including police, federal marshalls, FBI, Secret Service, etc. These days, retired police officers have special carry rights nationwide, too. Then there's private detectives, bodyguards, bounty hunters, etc. And then people with a really clear-cut security issue -- active stalkers, judges with hundreds of death threats, etc. And then civilians with carry permits, many of whom feel very strongly about it and simply won't go places they can't carry. There's also competitive shooting in everything from the Olympics to local clubs, with pistols, shotguns, and rifles. Also hunting, again with handguns as well as rifles and shotguns. With the mess of laws we have today, none of this is anything to be undertaken casually. You're always responsible for obeying the laws of the place you are, so you have to *know* them all, and they vary a lot from state to state. In Tennessee I can't carry into a bar, but I can be as drunk as I want, whereas in Minnesota I can carry into a bar anytime I want, but I can't have a blood alcohol about .04%. Some states say I can't go within 200 yards (or other random distances) of schools while carrying, and if I'm unfamiliar with the neighborhood I often can't even *tell* if there's a school around that far away. And if your plane gets rerouted and they try to hand you your luggage in a state where you can't have your firearms, *don't let them*. People have been arrested in those circumstances. I wouldn't advise anybody to take up traveling with a gun just to get better luggage security, really. I don't think. But it at least makes an amusing area to speculate in.
-- David Dyer-Bennet, dd-b@xxxxxxxx; http://dd-b.net/ Snapshots: http://dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/data/ Photos: http://dd-b.net/photography/gallery/ Dragaera: http://dragaera.info
