More than a dozen House Democrats have introduced legislation that would ban people from carrying loaded guns at airports, except for law enforcement officers and Homeland Security employees.
Everyone else could still carry a gun, but only if they are unloaded and locked up in clearly marked, locked cases, according to Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Ga., the bill’s sponsor.
“Airports are the gateway to commerce throughout the world and the front door to the communities they connect for millions of passengers who visit the United States each year,” Johnson said Monday. “It defies logic that we would allow anyone other than law enforcement officials to carry a loaded gun within an airport.”
The ban on carrying a loaded, insecure weapon would extend to airport terminals, lobbies, baggage claim areas, ticket counters and pick-up and drop-off areas outside. Under Johnson’s bill, airports would have to post signs saying that these areas are gun-free zones.
Technically, Johnson’s bill would create a few federal law that would trump any state and local laws that might otherwise allow guns in airports. It would be overseen by the Department of Homeland Security.
Democrats on the bill include Reps. Don Beyer, Va.; Andre Carson, Ind.; Gerry Connolly, Va.; John Conyers, Mich.; Keith Ellison, Minn.; Alan Grayson, Fla.; Raul Grijalva, Ariz.; Mike Honda, Calif; Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas; Robin Kelly, Ill.; John Lewis, Ga.; Mike Quigley, Ill.; David Scott, Ga.; and Jackie Speier, Calif.
