Not correct. Re-enactors do this all the time to avoid having baggage handlers or nosy traffic cops grab their property.

You can mail yourself your own longarm or registered machinegun to yourself, Poste Restant ( General Delivery ). You show your ID at the destination Post Office, and take your package.

Pistols are a bit more difficult, since no one ( not even FFLs ) can use the mail for them. You use a parcel service ( I believe FedEx will handle them still ) using the same General Delivery type of service.

Just make sure possession is state-law legal at your destination.

I mean, how many unique brands of gasoline where the mixture is only sold in 2 stores in all of Miami will just be happened to be used to light a guy on fire? And that unique, overpriced gasoline will be in the middle of some gas-theft ring thing? Really? Really? Really?

I guess I'm just waiting for that one episode where they run every conceivable test and go, "I don't know what to tell you, I've got nothing from any of these clues and it's a pretty mundane crime, Horatio. I think this one is going unsolved..."

@PsiCop: I too was a kid during that time. And I recall (or is it recollect?) that during my social studies class in high school we watched the Watergate testimony instead of reading about history.

As for AITF dialogue, I don't recall your first quotation regarding gun control, but I do remember (now that you mention it) Edith's change of life. And I also remember something about a shopping cart and cling peaches (in heavy syrup).

My memory has M*A*S*H dialogue (or at least the various episodes/scenes) locked away; and I have the videotapes to watch 'em now and again to help me keep them fresh (if something 35+ years old can be considered fresh).

OT, what's your take on Monty Pyton? Thumbs up or down?

If they're not part of Delta, they're still acting on Delta's behalf, and Delta has an overall responsibility to that baggage entrusted to them gets from Point A to Point B intact. If this means that Delta needs to do some extra diligence to ensure that they don't delegate baggage entrusted to them to third parties unworthy of that trust, so be it.

@nybiker: How did I know? I was a kid when AITF was airing and I simply remember seing it. (I found the video clip by Googling the quotation from memory.) I recall a lot of stuff on AITF like it was yesterday. Another Archie Bunker argument against gun control went like this:

Gloria: Daddy, did you know that 65 percent of the people murdered in the last ten years were killed by handguns?

Archie: Would it make you feel any better, little girl, if they was pushed outta windas?

Or when Archie railed against Edith because she was in menopause:

You wanna have your change o' life? You gotta do it right now! You got just thoyty seconds, come on, change!

I have no idea why I remember that show so well. I guess because it was hilarious at the time. There are other things from that era I recall very well too, such as the testimony before the Senate Watergate committee ... where the most common phrase uttered was, "To the best of my ability, I do not recollect ..."

When I got home in Denver and unpacked, both the GPS windshield mount and the mesh bag were missing. I can only surmise that someone saw them, thought there must be something valuable in all that, and grabbed them without checking closely. As I said, bizarre. ..bruce..

Oh and the TSA are only slightly more polite than the Gestapo.

@yggdriedi: Professional photographers do this all the time with starter pistols because they are cheap but still require the same process as a real gun.

after i lock the lock, i cover it with colored paper and tegaderm so i can see instantly whether the lock has been opened and the colored paper makes duplicating it difficult although not impossible.

BUT I NEVER CHECK VALUABLES!!!!!!!!! NOTHING AT ALL EVER!!!!!!

If I had a gun to transport I'd get to the airport 20 minutes early just to have a manager TAKE RESPONSIBILITY for this thing that is a reason TSA exists

Here's a hint: don't ever steal a fed's gun unless you want hell.

@SacraBos:

I used to work for a major airline as a bag room supervisor and I witnessed an employee remove something from a passenger's bag. I confronted him and said "What the f*#k are you doing?" and he told me that the bag was vibrating and he was checking it out. Policy was that only supervisors "checked out" suspicious bags including those that vibrated. I wanted him disciplined, but I was told by my superiors that unless I saw him actually "pocket" the merchandise, the union would win the case with backpay. Essentially, I was told to "let it go."

Long story short, never pack anything of value.

@zekebullseye: I see your point but in reality I guess unless TSA personel have suspicion that a bomb or something of actual danger to the flight or airport is in the luggage they probably don't care nor should they. If the passanger declared the firearm and it was checked at one point what else can be with dishonest employees .

The airline baggage handlers need to be supervised by the carrier or whom ever they contract to .

Almost once a year they always seem to catch luggage thieves in places like Miami . What puzzles me is that did you ever see an airline application- they want more thoroughness and detail than your average job application even if for a non skill position like baggage handler .

Just goes to show you all those HR techniques for finding the best candidate are useless . Some people take a job with an angle already in mind-theft and others hop on the bandwagon meaning it's an existing problem -I wonder what these criminals did .

@Powerlurker: I wrote my first response to you after only about 10 or 15 minutes of watching. I just finished watching the entire 52 minute video. He's got good stories too. Thanks again for the info. Now I just have to get a flare gun and the 81mm mortar round case, locks, hinges, and I'm all set.

@Powerlurker: Good video. Very informative.

@aaronjpoehler: +1. I like that you, as a fellow member of the spelling police, are correcting the spelling of a police officer rank.

@Stephmo: You know, as much as I like the CSI shows, and I do, I always wonder about all those databases. Tire tread, yeah. But shoes and car paint? And as for rope fiber, at least James Stewart didn't need that database to solve the crime.

@PsiCop: How did you even know the reference was there? You must have the videotapes, that's it. Good catch though. I especially like how he says that they would hand out the pistols. That way, you don't even have to bring your own.

Do you know if that particular episode is on DVD (and at Netflix)? I'll look for it as well. I always enjoyed watching the show. "...Those were the days."

I have stopped checking anything of any remote value.

@Skaperen: Yep, definitely, it's time to try Archie Bunker's plan for airline security:


+ Watch video

Only if it's the cop's duty weapon. The article made it sound like the gun was the guy's personally owned firearm.

Not with firearms, the only person who is allowed to have access to the keys to the lock is you. Typically when a firearm is declared, TSA will privately hand-screen the container, after which you then lock the container (which can have any lock you want, not just a TSA approved one). Here's a video out where, to keep TSA goons from rifling through his luggage this guy packs all of his stuff in his "gun case" which is a converted, steel, mortar round case that he locks with heavy grade disc locks like the kind you'd see on vending machines, and then just throws a starter pistol or flare gun in it so he can declare a firearm in it.

Here's the video

Technically, the overnight requirement for pistols is a shipper policy and not an act of law. You can ship your pistol FedEx Ground without any legal repercussions, but if it gets lost or stolen they'll probably deny the insurance claim on your shipment of "machine parts". The policy is mostly a CYA move on the part of the carriers, they figure that the less time the gun is in their possession, the less time one of their employees has to steal it.

@nytmare: Huh? The airlines should report the theft and the police should catch the thieves. And they should do that no matter who the victim is, cop, or not.

@HiPwr: Almost certainly due to the gun. Other people have been pointing out that it's a serious crime compared to just stealing cash and other "normal" valuables.

There is little stopping anyone from shipping a gun in an unmarked box to anyone they choose, except the threat of getting caught. The practical truth is that people in the illicit gun trade don't bother shipping guns through the mail or UPS anyway. They smuggle them instead. So the rules about using a FFL won't catch criminals anyway.

At the very least, if they are screened only when they leave, they would be caught if they had something on them that was later reported stolen

@HiPwr: So true...granted, hammers aren't allowed either, but an unloaded gun is only about as dangerous as any other blunt object you're allowed to carry on planes. Like a heeled shoe. Although guns tend to cause panic a lot more than shoes...

Strange. Here in Canada where we have very strict gun laws you can ship any type of firearm anywhere using cheap old Canada post.

I don't see the benefit to using an FFL for shipments. Can someone enlighten me?

How long had this been going on? Was the sting initiated because of the seriousness of stealing a firearm, or was it because it was a (retired) [i]cop's[/i] gun and the police take stronger action when one of their own is involved?

@squinko - applauds the death of FBC: A man with a hammer is more dangerous than a man with an unloaded gun.

The only way they can legally search your luggage is to have you present, and if your stuff gets opened without you there all hell will break loose.

There is all of the TSA monkey business with shoes, liquids, and sharp implements. You have regular stories of flight crews power-tripping on passengers in the name of security.

Meanwhile, you have criminals walking around the so-called security zone with firearms. How is it that these people are so unsupervised that they have the opportunity to rifle through luggage, steal things, take them to their lockers, and then out of the airport?

I'm no terrorist mastermind, but it looks like it would be pretty easy to take a firearm from checked luggage and get it onto an airplane. Likewise, if people have the opportunity to take things from luggage and get them out of the airport; it stands to reason that they could get things into the airport and put them into luggage.

We're lucky this particular group of thieves was so damned stupid. Since passengers are required to declare checked firearms, that provides pretty good evidence that it was stolen from your luggage if it's missing when you get to your destination.

I have a very simple punishment for these people.

We build a platform in the middle of the terminal with one (or more) chairs.

The bad guys need to sit there 8 hours a day (they get a lunch and bathroom breaks but that adds to the 8 hours).

Each wears a sign that says: My name is .... I am a baggage handler. I stole from passengers' luggage.

Six months. Lots of press. Lots of photos. Pictures in the paper and on TV. Lots of nasty comments.

The next guys will certainly think twice.

Of course, if they don't like the humiliation, there is always jail time. . .

@azntg: Well then I suppose it's a good thing we don't put them out to pasture like an old dog or injured horse.

Fun tip for those people wary of checking valuables/high priced items in their luggage: Check a starter pistol (like people use for track events) or a flare gun in your luggage. Doesn't even have to have ammo. Due to their nature they still have to be treated as firearms and makes it less likely for your stuff to be rummaged through. The only way they can legally search your luggage is to have you present, and if your stuff gets opened without you there all hell will break loose. You also get to pick up your bag at either the oversize office or the airline's office at the baggage claim area. If you have a few extra minutes on either side of your trip to process your bags in and out of the system, this is the way to go.

All together now...

"...'cause Delta steals custommadehandguns"

@SacraBos:
That was my first thought. It's never a big problem until it happens to someone with authority.

@aaronjpoehler:
At least they spelled "genius" correctly. That would have been really funny.

Amazing! After all the complaints for ordinary citizens about airline thefts, nothing happens. Let ONE retired police officer's handgun go missing and there's a sting operation to nab the culprets. I wish everyday people were so important or believable.

Glad they caught these guys, but if you lost something while going through that airport, you might consider a lawsuit.

I had to go to Omaha after a grandparent died, and needed to bring a pair of pistols back with me. I couldn't ship them to myself, and don't know an FFL I can use, so I had to take them with me on the flight. I checked and declared them in a locked container, and got them back just fine.

This story actually makes me feel more confident knowing that when there is a problem like this, they are able to find the culprit(s), recover the items, and jail them.

There is no way to completely eradicate crime, and this is an example of the system working.

As CSI has taught me...stealing guns NEVER works out.

Good advice, except when you're required to check your valuables. As is the cased with firearms.

Remember not to try to carry on your firearms, folks.