Who’s Stealing Guns Checked With Airlines? (Gun Talk Topic)

This Sunday on Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk radio show, the discussion is about traveling with firearms when flying, how to protect your property from disappearing while in the care of airlines, and what to do when a gun is stolen in transit.

One of Tom’s friends, a well-known firearms instructor, will tell his story of how one of his pistols was recently stolen while in the custody of Southwest Airlines, after he had declared the firearms with the airline and had them checked by TSA. When his locked case arrived, the padlocks had been cut off the case, and one of the pistols was missing. He filed a police report, contacted the airline, and also talked with the Transportation Security Administration.

Neither the TSA nor Southwest Airlines will take responsibility for the stolen firearm. No one wants to talk about who cut the padlocks off the case. Southwest says it isn’t their responsibility. TSA says it’s the airline’s responsibility. The police don’t appear to be very excited about the fact that a pistol was taken in the airport environment.

“All this leads to the question,” said show host Tom Gresham, “does this happen so often that no one really finds it to be unusual? Both the TSA and Southwest Airlines have been invited to appear on this Sunday’s national broadcast. At this time, it’s uncertain whether either will provide a spokesperson.

In its 16th year of national syndication, Tom Gresham’s Gun Talk Radio airs live on Sundays from 2:00 to 5:00 pm Eastern, and runs on more than 115 stations, plus on XM (Ch. 165) Satellite Radio. All Gun Talk shows can be downloaded as podcasts via the GunTalk Archive site.