July 23, 2008
Lawmaker wants no guns at airports, cites Ga. law
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee says he might pursue new gun restrictions in response to a recently enacted Georgia law that could allow people to carry concealed firearms in parts of the Atlanta airport.
He asked the Transportation Security Administration to clarify federal law governing weapons in areas outside security checkpoints. In a letter Monday to TSA Assistant Secretary Kip Hawley, he said “the committee may seek legislative action to correct this omission” if there are no restrictions.
TSA spokesman Christopher White said Tuesday that no federal prohibitions apply to areas outside security checkpoints and that the agency follows local regulations. He said he didn’t know how many airports allow firearms and declined to say whether the agency has a position on the matter, maintaining that it is focused on keeping guns from getting through security.
“We work within the framework of local laws,” he said.
At issue in Georgia is a law signed by Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue earlier this year that allows residents who have passed criminal background checks to carry concealed weapons onto mass transit, as well as into state parks and restaurants that serve alcohol. The law took effect July 1.
A legal battle quickly erupted over whether the law applies to public areas of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport before travelers pass through security checkpoints.
On the day the new law took effect, Atlanta officials who oversee the airport declared it a “gun-free zone” and said anyone carrying a gun there could be arrested and charged with a misdemeanor. Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin argued that allowing guns could endanger people because airports remain attractive targets for terrorism.
Gun rights supporters filed a federal lawsuit challenging the designation, saying the airport qualifies as mass transportation and has restaurants that should be accessible under the new law.
Sean Broderick, spokesman for the American Association of Airport Executives, also said he did not know how many airports allow handguns. Andrew Arulanandam, a National Rifle Association spokesman, said he thinks guns are at least partially allowed on airport grounds in most states.
The Dallas-Forth Worth International Airport, for example, allows weapons in areas outside checkpoints, while Washington’s Reagan National and Dulles International airports eased rules several years ago to allow weapons on grounds and parking lots, but not in terminals and other buildings that access airfields.
Hartsfield spokesman Herschel Grangent said airport and TSA officials were scheduled to meet late Tuesday on the guns issue.
By BEN EVANS-WASHINGTON (AP)
Associated Press writer Shannon McCaffrey in Atlanta contributed to this report.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gRBGpYXCqND81Gr2Q0EhViM9UftQD9235PBO0
Filed under Announcements, Passenger Awareness, Travel Safety, Travel Tips by Natalia Ippolito
