ATLANTA — Officials in Atlanta gathered at the airport on Friday to deliver a unified message ahead of the July 4th travel weekend: "Please leave your gun at home."
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport expects hundreds of thousands of passengers to fly out of Atlanta over the weekend and hundreds of thousands more to fly into the airport or pass through.
That's an enormous burden on security operations, and the officials warned there are severe consequences if you try to bring a gun past security.
Robert Spinden, the TSA Federal Security Director, said 200 guns had been confiscated at Atlanta's airport so far this year, 175 of them loaded.
He did note that it's actually down from this time last year. Still, He cautioned the penalties for taking one through security could carry a fine of nearly $14,000 and potential federal misdemeanor or even felony charges.
Spinden stressed that there are proper ways to pack and declare a gun in your checked baggage, outlined on TSA's website.
Mayor Andre Dickens noted that over the past few years, Atlanta's airport "had the most guns caught at security checkpoints over the past few years than any other American airport."
"We ask you to please, as you come to this airport, leave your firearms at home," U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Ryan K. Buchanan said.
Atlanta's interim police chief, Darin Schierbaum, said, "this is not a Second Amendment issue."
"This is a safety issue, ensuring the safety of this airport and our travelers," the chief said.