WNY CCW holder brings gun into Buffalo TSA; Who does he know???

[VietnamEraVet]

So, a Williamsville man brought his EDC into Buffalo airport TSA. Now, he was cited, BUT, - his firearm was returned to him, - and he was allowed to leave the airport and go home!!!

I'm not saying that this is NOT how someone who makes that mistake should be treated. It just strikes me that if one of us did that, that the book would be thrown at us, and our EDC confiscated.

I am just wondering why this guy got the treatment he did.

Williamsville man stopped at Buffalo-Niagara airport for loaded gun

A Williamsville man was stopped by TSA officers at the airport on Nov. 12.

www.wgrz.com

 

[C3D]

That's actually normal. But the TSA is going to give him a civil fine of up to $15K.

 

[Rocpo]

Nope. Normal if you have a NYS permit.
If you do not have a NYS permit, then you're placed under arrest.

 

[VietnamEraVet]

Nope. Normal if you have a NYS permit.
If you do not have a NYS permit, then you're placed under arrest.

Hmmmn. I do also recall a case a couple of years ago where someone did this at Syracuse’s Hancock Field airport, and surprisingly, they were simply allowed to leave with their firearm,- and no citation or anything. No muss, no fuss. (Edit: it might have also been that his spouse returned to the airport, picked up his EDC, and he continued on and caught his flight. Not 100% sure now years later.)

However I have read about countless other instances with TSA elsewhere in the US where people in the same situation were arrested, booked, and their firearm seized, never to be returned to them. And those people were legally carrying in their home state when that happened. Some airports are even worse: here locally the Charlotte Douglas airport has gotten a reputation for arresting CCW holders for simply carrying while driving on airport grounds to pickup or drop off passengers.

There are at least two things about this that bother me: 1. There doesn’t seem to be uniformity across the country as to how people are treated by TSA in these circumstances, and 2. The range of possible fines seems outrageous. And 3., where does the government get off being allowed to have a private company do this? They are not law enforcement to my knowledge. WTF?

 

[Jmac00]

I learned back in the 70's, its all about WHO YOU KNOW, period.

IF you know the right people, you are pretty much bullet proof. Knowing the right people got me out of a couple jams.

 

[ManualF150]

I learned back in the 70's, its all about WHO YOU KNOW, period.

IF you know the right people, you are pretty much bullet proof. Knowing the right people got me out of a couple jams.

Same here.

 

[pshift]

Might have been a sheriff's deputy or LEO.

 

[OwnTheRide]

I learned back in the 70's, its all about WHO YOU KNOW, period.

IF you know the right people, you are pretty much bullet proof. Knowing the right people got me out of a couple jams.

Unfortunately, way too true.

About 30 years ago, I was in Syracuse courts for a speeding ticket. I forget exactly what the deal was, but they did something like shift my court time that very day so that by the time I showed up, it was too late. I was wandering around the courthouse trying to figure out what to do about it - worried there might be a bench warrant coming my way or something despite having shown up on time - when some attorney saw me, asked what was up, and felt some sympathy for my situation. He said "give me that ticket."

He walked into some secretary-like area, talked to someone there, came back out and said "you're all set." I asked if I needed to come back some other time, "nope, it's all taken care of." And sure enough, it was... I never heard a thing about that ticket ever again. I have no idea who that guy was, what his role was, etc. My best guess is that he was an ADA who was in a good mood that day.