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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Transportation Security ministration announced Wednesday that in the first six months of the year, it has detected more than 3,000 guns at checkpoints nationwide.
The agency said at that rate, the number of guns detected will pass the current annual record of 5,972 guns stopped, which was set last year.
On average, TSA is stopping 17 guns at checkpoints daily in 2022.
At Jacksonville International Airport, TSA has stopped 34 guns this year. That’s only eight fewer than the total guns collected in 2021.
“Well, it’s not shocking just because I live in Indiana where you don’t even have to have a permit no more to carry a concealed weapon,” said traveler Parnell Hemitt.
Travelers have mixed feelings about the numbers.
“You go into different states and different cities, and flying with anybody, you just got to protect yourself,” said traveler Bre Lynmicks.
Traveler Jerry Everett said, “I don’t want a guy on an airplane with a pistol.”
At JAX, there are signs letting travelers know that firearms aren’t allowed at security checkpoints. There are specific rules that must be followed. TSA says:
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Firearms must be unloaded.
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Firearms must be in a locked, hard-sided container as checked baggage only and declared to the airline at the ticket counter.
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Firearm laws vary per destination.
Across the state of Florida, TSA has confiscated 405 guns this year so far. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport and Orlando International Airport are in the top 10 for most firearms violations in the country.
RELATED: 42 guns confiscated at Jacksonville International Airport in 2021 | A gun in your carry-on? Some are calling for stiffer fines
The record set in 2021 was a jump from the 3,257 firearms found on passengers or in their carry-on bags at checkpoints in 2020. TSA said about 83% of the firearms confiscated in 2020 were loaded. Total passengers screened in 2020 fell by 500 million.
In 2019, TSA officers stopped 4,432 firearms, of which 87% were loaded.
