Washington state senator arrested in Hong Kong for carrying a gun through airport

[ma96782]

Really????

Wilson found the gun mid-flight between San Francisco and Hong Kong, according to his office, when he reached into his briefcase for a piece of gum and felt his revolver inside. The gun wasn't loaded, his office said, and he immediately went to report it to custom officials once the plane landed in Hong Kong.

BUT, But, but......he has a CCW (from WA).

Aloha, Mark

 

[ma96782]

Doesn't say much about the screening process. Had it been a bad guy they could all be sitting on the bottom of the Pacific. Not to minimize what 'apparently would be one of our own's' actions. Hard not to think that this was a conscious decision. The only way I have been able to travel by air with a firearm is when it was in a locked case, in luggage that was checked 'domestically'.

Exactly what I was thinking.

Aloha, Mark

PS..........
I wonder? Will someone be awarded with a few days off (at their own expense)? Maybe, an even BIGGER reward is in order here? Or will the UNION help? Cough, cough.....

 

[CamoDeafie]

Okay. Let's be serious.

Who here thinks the TSA just waved him through because he's a State Senator, and presumably also had armed bodyguards with him?

 

[edzz]

This is why I often carry a revolver, many of the millennials manning / girling / theying (whatever) security check points are just as likely to recognize a revolver as to have the ability to drive a manual shift car.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Okay. Let's be serious.

Who here thinks the TSA just waved him through because he's a State Senator, and presumably also had armed bodyguards with him?

Probably dropped off on the tarmac.
No terminal, no tsa

 

[parallax]

Okay. Let's be serious.

Who here thinks the TSA just waved him through because he's a State Senator, and presumably also had armed bodyguards with him?

I'm gonna say . no, i have traveled on commercial flights with governors and senators, they came with 1 or 2 aids, but no armed security, on either domestic or international flights, and they had to all pass through security just like us deplorables. edit:.. i do know for fact, that when you fly using a private business jet, ( out of the business jet centers in most major airports, )you got alot of leeway, when it comes to any kind of security protocol, and typically you are just driven directly to the jet, ( gulfstream, citation, learjet,etc. )

 

[NathanielE]

TSA has literally never stopped a terrorist. If they had, it would be in the news. No, instead they f@#% up their one job

 

[P7M13]

All this talk of AI, you would think TSA screeners would be quaking in their BDUs.

 

[ZA_Survivalist]

Piss poor example of a gun owner.
We all know it's a big no-no. He may have the R next to his name, but he should know better.
I'm fairly certain he thought he had special privilege and is claiming he "forgot".
Almost all politicians get that way with nearly everything due to the special bubblegum-wiping treatment they get constantly. Odds are politicians don't undergo the same security scrutiny us lowly civilians do.. just why is that? Aren't they representatives OF the people FOR the people?

Beyond that, who can be so oblivious to not know the location of their firearm? A deadly weapon going into another country no less and he "forgot"? Zero security checks pre flight? How is that? They should have no special treatment.

Lastly.. What good would it do him in a self defense situation had he NEEDED his pistol (in his home state) if he "forgot" it was in there anyway? Sure seems like the same lame excuse when guys have an ND at home and claim they were "cleaning" their gun.. no, you pulled the trigger without checking the chamber and you were dicking around with a loaded gun.

 

[Old Dog]

Well, those sharp-eyed TSA buggers at Sea-Tac found a box of Mini-Mags in my backpack on one of my last trips. I was more embarrassed than anything, having made a last-minute switch of packs for size reasons, never checked every one of the 47 pockets... No excuse, really, but the biggest brain-fart I've had with regard to arms and ammo when traveling.

I'm fairly certain he thought he had special privilege and is claiming he "forgot".

He certainly hasn't struck me as that type of person. Hopefully this won't cost us another R and pro-RKBA member in the Senate.

 

[Cavedweller]

They are too busy strip searching 80 year-old grandmas in wheel chairs to catch terrorists.

 

[JohnnyMac]

Sen Wilson is actually a solid supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I have written (emailed) him multiple times regarding idiotic, anti-2A gun bills and generally he responds within hours and answers my question exactly how I would hope he would. I have sat in on a couple of his town halls and he has impressed me. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that this was a true mistake (albeit very unfortunate) on his part and he'll continue to get my vote as long as he continues to run for the Senate.

 

[CamoDeafie]

Sen Wilson is actually a solid supporter of the 2nd Amendment. I have written (emailed) him multiple times regarding idiotic, anti-2A gun bills and generally he responds within hours and answers my question exactly how I would hope he would. I have sat in on a couple of his town halls and he has impressed me. I am giving him the benefit of the doubt that this was a true mistake (albeit very unfortunate) on his part and he'll continue to get my vote as long as he continues to run for the Senate.

Good odds that he won't be able to run for the Senate for whatever reasons the WA AG and politicians can think of to remove him

 

[Catfishmoon]

Beyond that, who can be so oblivious to not know the location of their firearm? A deadly weapon going into another country no less and he "forgot"? Zero security checks pre flight? How is that? They should have no special treatment.

I agree with that statement.
I also assume he simply forgot he had the pistol with him (which there is no excuse for doing). The story mentions he self-reported the pistol when he reached China. I would guess he had to forfeit the gun at that point.
Did he also break the law being a resident of Washington traveling into the State of Oregon with a handgun in a briefcase if it was loaded or if a loaded magazine was also in the briefcase? Perhaps he also has another concealed carry permit that is applicable in Oregon?
Especially flying into a country like China... Perhaps he would get a little bit of sympathy if he were driving a pickup truck into Canada and forgot about his "old truck pistol" under the seat, but there is never an excuse to forget about your own firearm in your own presence.

 

[Diamondback]

Well, those sharp-eyed TSA buggers at Sea-Tac found a box of Mini-Mags in my backpack on one of my last trips. I was more embarrassed than anything, having made a last-minute switch of packs for size reasons, never checked every one of the 47 pockets... No excuse, really, but the biggest brain-fart I've had with regard to arms and ammo when traveling.


He certainly hasn't struck me as that type of person. Hopefully this won't cost us another R and pro-RKBA member in the Senate.

Make no mistake, it will... NEVER underestimate the Circular Firing Squad compulsions of WSRP. Remember Matt Shea?

 

[OldBroad44]

Its possible he sometimes/usually flies in private or chartered planes or plane where he has diplomatic clearance and is used to his luggage not being searched at all.

 

[Jay Walk]

Three months after 9/11 I boarded a flight with a small knife in my pocket, round trip.

 

[Idaho44]

Rules for thee, but not for me. It's just business as usual, 'special' people regardless of profession have demanded and get 'special' treatment. This has been ongoing for many decades and centuries, so what's the big deal? Don't criticize the TSA, after all they did pass the 'mirror test'!

 

[nammac]

Will be interesting to see what happens to him on October 30th, that's when he goes before the justices in Hong Kong. I understand the punishment can be up to 15 years in the steel cage and/or up to $12k in fines.

I'll call it now, he's not going to see time behind bars. It'll be a financial penalty and it'll be nowhere near the maximum. Why you ask, because he's an American politician…

 

[OldBroad44]

Rules for thee, but not for me. It's just business as usual, 'special' people regardless of profession have demanded and get 'special' treatment. This has been ongoing for many decades and centuries, so what's the big deal? Don't criticize the TSA, after all they did pass the 'mirror test'!

Actually, anyone with the money can charter an airplane. Or buy a private plane and hire a pilot. And maybe also buy and hire a helicopter to get you from home to the airport. As for the US pres, I'd really prefer he do his traveling in Air Force one and Marine I and armored cars rather than in an open car where he can easily be assassinated. Those not rich enough for ordinary commercial planes take trains or buses. And whenever an organization needs somebody fast, they might send a plane.

When I was a kid, my dad was in the AF. He only got two weeks vacation a year. About half the time they canceled it at the last minute. Once they even interrupted his meager vacation by sending a helicopter into the toolies of Florida where the family was vacationing, flying him to the closest airport, where an AF jet was waiting for him and took him directly to DC, and via another AF helicopter to the Pentagon. I guess they were in a rush that time. I think he was only about a Lt. Col. at the time. We never knew what it was about. Except once when they sent a jet for him we did know. Cuban missile crisis. My guess is the other times he actually had an AF jet tasked with flying him to the Pentagon were also times that it looked like WWIII was about to start. Just ones the public never heard about. Just guessing from his job. He was in CONAC. What many here would call a REMF. He was the guy you would want in the room if you needed to activate the entire AF reserves. Which you wouldn't do unless you thought WWIII was starting. I'm guessing we had way more close calls than the public ever knew about during the cold war.