Another arrest has put Orlando International in the lead for the number of guns seized at Florida airports, perhaps boosting police hopes for signs warning OIA travelers against bringing loaded weapons into the terminal.
A loaded pistol confiscated Thursday from a Texan broke Orlando's tie with Tampa International Airport for statewide bragging, or blushing, rights, for a total of 29 handguns so far this year.
The latest arrest involved a rarity: an out-of-state gun owner.
More than 90 percent of those arrested this year were Floridians, and at least 70 percent of them hold state concealed-weapon permits, according to police and federal Transportation Security Administration records.
In recent years, the arrests included local doctors, business owners, a Playboy playmate and others without criminal records.
The violations continue to occur -- and pose a safety threat -- despite more than a decade of post-9-11 security warnings.
"Bringing a loaded weapon into a crowded checkpoint is a serious matter," TSA spokeswoman Sari Koshetz wrote in an email. "Sometimes passengers literally throw their carry-on suitcase onto the X-ray belt and an accidental discharge could be tragic!"
In response, Orlando police want to ring the airport with signs warning gun owners that weapons are not allowed in the terminal, including firearms in carry-on luggage belonging to concealed-weapon-permit holders. By law, only unloaded guns in locked cases inside checked luggage are allowed in the terminal.
"The idea is to catch them before they come into the building," said police Master Sgt. Roger Brennan, who drafted the proposal. "This is far from a pandemic by any stretch of the imagination, but it is something that needs to be addressed."
Police say the warnings are directed at Florida residents, not the millions of tourists arriving yearly to visit Central Florida's theme parks. OIA currently has four sets of electronic signs flashing 5-second warnings along with security tips at the two federal Transportation Security Administration checkpoints.
Carolyn Fennell of the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority said Thursday the police proposal is only a suggestion at this point. It was presented at a committee meeting in early August and has not been approved or reviewed by senior staff.
"No one has resisted the suggestion. It was just a recommendation," Fennell said. "Certainly we're all conscious of the need to make the public aware they can't bring guns to the screening process."
The proposal, "Suggested Strategy to Reduce Firearms Violations at Airport Checkpoints," partly attributes the arrests to the state's concealed-weapon-permit standards.
The department's PowerPoint presentation notes that mandatory gun-free zones are not displayed prominently in the state's 41-page application for concealed-weapon permits. Besides airport terminals, those areas include schools, bars, prisons and sporting events.
Police also pointed out that Florida does not have a uniform curriculum for concealed-weapons-permit classes, so applicants don't necessarily receive the same instructions and warnings. And police noted "lack of emphasis in class" about where concealed weapons are not allowed.
If approved, signs will be posted in all OIA parking garages, off-site parking lots, private park-and-ride lots, airport shuttle bus stops and at the terminal's entrances to ticket counters and departing flights.
A Central Florida professional arrested with a gun last year doubts the signs will work.
"Who's going to bring a gun and put it through an X-ray machine?" said the concealed-weapon permit holder, who asked not to be identified after paying a $1,500 fine and going through pre-trial diversion to get the charge against him dropped. "What happened in my case, I thought the gun was in the car. The police officer who took me to jail said, 'This is ridiculous.'"
Few violators are convicted.
Once arrested, almost all defendants are booked into the Orange County Jail and released on bond. They rarely are convicted. Either charges are dropped or they go through pre-trial diversion and come out with a clean record, according to interviews and court records.
Playmate Shanna Marie McLaughlin pleaded no contest in 2011 and adjudication was withheld after she was stopped at OIA before boarding a flight with a .45-caliber revolver loaded with hollow-point ammunition. A concealed-weapon-permit holder, she told police the gun belonged to her boyfriend and she didn't know it was in her carry-on bag.
The most recent arrest Thursday involved Francis Reick, 57, who was stopped before a flight to Dallas with a 9 mm pistol in a carry-on bag. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a felony because he did not have a Texas concealed-weapon permit.
Concealed-weapon-permit holders generally are charged with a lesser misdemeanor charge of carrying a firearm in a place prohibited by law. Incomplete state records show at least 342 people have been charged with the crime in the past 10 years, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
Federal prosecutions are rare in Orlando except in cases of previously convicted felons caught with a firearm while trying to board a flight.
Everyone caught with a gun or gunpowder at OIA faces a federal civil fine of at least $1,500 and as much as $11,000, records show.
Despite arrests and fines, most people arrested at OIA get the guns back without losing their concealed-weapon permits, according to Winter Park lawyer Jon Gutmacher, the author of "Florida Firearms Law, Use and Ownership."
"In today's world, generally speaking, the firearm is recoverable," said Gutmacher, who has defended more than 15 airport gun cases. "And the CWP can't be affected unless they're found guilty in court."
Copyright 2013 - Orlando Sentinel
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
