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News flash: You can’t bring a gun on an airplane.
This apparently comes as a big surprise to people flying out of Sky Harbor Airport in Phoenix, as the TSA confiscated more guns at only three other airports in the country last year.
Authorities at Sky Harbor confiscated 65 guns last year, or about one every five or six days.
Of those guns, 86 percent were loaded and 32 percent had a round chambered.
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The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative compiled the TSA data on gun confiscation (which it releases weekly, here) to look at the trends in gun confiscation. Although it would seem people would have figured out that it’s not wise to attempt to bring a gun on an airplane, the number of confiscations nationwide jumped about 20 percent over 2012.
The only three airports where more guns were confiscated were in Atlanta (110 guns), Dallas-Fort Worth (98), and Houston (67).
Keep in mind, Atlanta’s the busiest airport in the nation, whereas Dallas-Fort Worth has the fifth-most passengers, and Houston has the 12th-most. Phoenix has the 11th-most.
However, the busiest airports behind Atlanta — in Chicago, Los Angeles, and Miami, respectively — didn’t crack the top 10 for gun confiscations in 2013.
In case you’re truly confused about the rules pertaining to bringing guns on airplanes, consult the TSA’s explanation, here.
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Follow Matthew Hendley on Twitter at @MatthewHendley.
