Georgia constitutional carry law weakens gun enforcement at Atlanta airport, interim chief says
Atlanta airport gun policy sparks concern with law enforcement
Atlanta police officials say that officers have been instructed to not detain passengers who have a firearm in carry-on luggage and can not make the passenger give up their weapon. Atlanta city council officials and law enforcement members are discussing the gun carry policy and its effects on passengers safety at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
ATLANTA - The federal policy forbidding guns at the security checkpoint remains intact at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but the way law enforcement engages with a violator is altogether different.
Atlanta police are not confiscating the weapon, are not arresting anyone, and they cannot compel the gun-toting traveler to submit to a debriefing.
"We are working on it," interim Chief Darin Schierbaum told surprised members of the Atlanta City Council Public Safety Panel.
The changes are the result of state-approved amendments to the Georgia carry statute.
The Atlanta city attorney looked at it and told police command the regulations make it clear the airport police power is restricted when it comes to the airport gun scenario.
Most individuals after being stopped, will make temporary arrangements such as toting the gun to the airport garage and locking it in a vehicle. But a few, evidently aware of the legal changes, will wave off the officer and not submit to a debriefing for information to be collected for a fine.
So, there is nothing the Atlanta officer can do about it.
A TSA staffer concedes the current policy is a mish mash, but the priority is stopping all weapons from improperly being placed onboard a jet.