Gun enforcement at Atlanta airport diminished by state law

ATLANTA - The so-called constitutional carry law handcuffs police officers who have been enforcing gun restrictions at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. That is the assessment of a top city of Atlanta official.

State legislators approved and Governor Brian Kemp signed the gun bill into law. 

The state rules supersede local guidelines. At Atlanta City Hall, the city attorney has told the Atlanta Police Department it no longer has authority to arrest passengers who take a gun to the security checkpoint. 

Local officers have for decades been the enforcement arm for the TSA. Although it is rare, police have jailed some travelers who had an armed gun in their carry-on bag. 

Now, those airport police have been told to no long arrest and process violators through the Clayton County Sheriff's office. 

In fact, the airport cops cannot even detain an individual for questioning. 

Instead, the officer can ask a passenger to leave the line and "voluntarily" proceed to the police precinct for a debriefing. What customarily follows is a citation and thousands of dollars in civil fines.

But the passenger is not required to go with the officer. The request can be ignored. The passenger with the forbidden item can leave the airport and carry that weapon to the parking garage or to a family member. 

One thing that does not change, according to the TSA's Mark Howell, the gun will not travel with the passenger. 

Ash Joshi, a former prosecutor in Fulton County, described the impact on airport policing as unintended consequences. 

"This all could have been avoided," said Joshi, "if the state had put in an exception for the airport".