OK, so here you are, with your family, at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta, the busiest airport in the world, with thousands of people coming and going from all over the world, and in walks this guy with his AK-47, fully loaded with a 100 round drum clip. Do you, your wife and children feel safer now? or maybe just a bit nervous? or, no problem because he's one of your freedom loving white American just "proving a point" ? Now, suppose he was a black guy? maybe with a couple of friends similarly armed? does the equation change, either yours or that of the multitude of police who are constantly at the airport? I'll sorta guess it would make a difference, but either way, what's your take on it and respond as if it were you and your family there. Me? I'd be looking for cover or the nearest exit while trying to determine how many cops are converging on the guy. Turns out, the police did talk to him, then followed him around (and, no, he did not attempt to go through security). Seems though, even that bit of attention was a bit too much for him: No, Mr. Cooley, when you have a right to do something, you may do it IF AND WHEN it is determined that what you are doing is benign and will likely result in no harm to the public, particularly when you are armed with a lethal weapon.
I'm not sure where the guy thinks he has a right to walk into a busy airport with a gun. While he has a right to own and possess a gun, he does not have a right to take one everywhere he goes.....especially into some public buildings. Some things are just not appropriate. I really do not care what color the person is.
un-(*)(*)(*)(*)ing-believable. he is lucky he isn't dead. if I was in charge of security there, I would have ordered my men to take him down if he refused to immediately hit the floor.
Well the dude was technically exercising his right. You would have been detaining him for doing so. Easy cut and dry case for you to be fired. Especially if you did it in the manner you just described.
A dude walks into an airport with a gun to show how lax airport security regulations are and race-baiting idiots start bleating about race...
he should have been immediately stopped at the entrance, and ordered on the ground. the fact that he was allowed to walk through the airport with that firearm, should get all the involved security fired. airports are governed by TSA regulations which do NOT allow open carry of loaded firearms by civilians.
This guys actions are equivalent to the Westboro Baptist Church protesting a soldier's or child's funeral. IMHO.
Apologies for calling that weapon an AK-47. I do know the difference, but just glanced at it. So, call it an assault rifle and let it go at that. Anyway, that airport is in Georgia, boys and girls, and under state laws, IT IS PERFECTLY LEGAL TO CARRY THAT WEAPON into the terminal. The airport at one time did not allow weapons on the property, but the wonderful gun-hugging, "guns everywhere" legislators took care of that. And, sadly that's why the guy wasn't gang tackled and marched off to the nearest station.
The TSA rules come into play at and after the security checkpoints; before that, it's local and state laws which prevail.
Forgot to mention that. I don't know how one could confuse an AK-47 with that, or any other gun, for that matter. But that's one of the biggest problems I have with gun control advocates. They don't seem to know anything about guns, other than that they are scary, and should be regulated a lot more heavily, if not outright banned. - - - Updated - - - That would have been pointless escalation. The police handled this situation very well.
its pointless until one day some European convert to Islam, or a white supremacist, comes in there and mows down 45 people with his AR.
Sorry, Ron, but in the public areas of Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, it's perfectly legal. Concealed weapons are also ok if you have a permit. Here's a bit more on it (sorry, no link): Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and then-airport manager Ben DeCosta then declared the airport a “gun-free zone,” saying it qualified as a public gathering place where concealed guns were still not allowed. GeorgiaCarry.org   sued the city, losing the initial ruling and an appeal. But in 2010, Georgia’s legislature passed another bill increasing gun rights. After some initial confusion, the city of Atlanta’s legal department reviewed the law and concluded that it could not prohibit guns in the terminal. A so-called “guns everywhere” law in 2014 reinforced the right, extending it to all Georgia airports.
You must not be able to read the law very well. It IS legal in portions of the airports that are bound by LOCAL and STATE laws. Unlike AFTER TSA checkpoints where the Fed law kicks in. I hope that helped clear up your confusion. It's why he was not arrested.
Show us the law that says that open carry of loaded firearms is illegal in Georgia (or by federal law).
And while city officials have in the past expressed dismay over the fact that citizens are permitted to carry weapons in the open and public areas of the airport, it is, indeed, perfectly legal for citizens to walk through the airport with their weapons displayed in view, provided they do not move into the TSA-controlled secure areas of the airport property. disgusting. the cops were right to question him and follow him.
