Reported by Joe Davidson for the Washington Post.
Many things, including air travel, slowed significantly during the pandemic — but not irresponsible travelers taking guns to airports.
In 2021, the Transportation Security Administration caught 5,972 firearms at airport checkpoints, the most ever. That’s an increase of more than one-third over the 4,432 guns found in 2019, the next highest year and just before the coronavirus ravaged the world. The number of firearms found has soared by more than six times since 2008.
The increase in guns is particularly stark when compared with the decreasing number of passengers.
In 2019, the TSA said it found one firearm for every 197,358 passengers. In 2021, that rate doubled to one firearm detected for every 97,999 passengers.
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