Much about TSA seems to be a contradiction and a display of incompetence. This is what happened to me on my last trip (Sept. 2014).
I have made many airline trips carrying firearms nationally and internationally over the course of more years than I care to remember and have never had a serious problem. I also don't want anyone opening my gun case outside of my presence and therefore would have scoffed at the suggestion of putting a TSA lock on my case.
Last September my nephew and I flew from Los Angeles to Denver Colorado and then on to our final destination in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Our firearms, which were together in one case, were routed to our final destination as I have generally done. The trip to Manitoba was trouble free. Our return trip a week later on the same flight route turned into a teeth chipping nightmare.
Leaving Winnipeg we declared our firearms and ammunition at the passenger check-in counter as required. Again I requested that all baggage be tagged for transportation to our final destination in Los Angeles. From there we proceeded to a secondary inspection area where we stood by for a trouble free inspection screening of our firearms by Canadian Officials. Our firearms and ammunition were cleared for boarding and transportation without a problem. After a couple hours layover in Denver we arrived in Los Angeles.
All of our luggage arrived in Los Angeles except the rifle case. After several hours of dealing with airline representatives at the baggage counter and learning that they had no idea where the case was, we eventually filed a missing baggage claim and left. For the next three days we would call baggage services personnel who were unable to tell us anything other than the case had apparently arrived in Denver. From that point on airline personnel had no idea what had happened to the case.
During the next three days of trying to track the case down a friendly and helpful rapport was built with a particular airline representative. On the third day of speaking with her that she told me our case "may have been located". She said one of the baggage handlers had seen a case as described on our missing baggage claim in possession of Denver TSA personnel. She admonished me not to repeat it, but her experiences with TSA personnel were generally bad because she found them to be "idiots". She told me she would follow-up on the possible sighting of the case and get back to me.
A while later she called back to say that our case had been 'sidelined' by TSA Officials. Although she did not know why the case had been pulled from further transportation she said TSA had "taped" the case up and marked it with an order stating it was not to be transported. She then gave me a number to phone Denver TSA for follow-up. I spent the next two days leaving messages and getting return calls from a Denver TSA supervisor who denied knowing anything at all about the case. He denied knowing what the airline baggage representative was talking about.
Finally, the TSA supervisor acknowledged that they had in fact sidelined the case, but he had know idea why. After another day or so he said he had learned that the case had been sidelined for "inspection". He said; "our people couldn't open the case because it has some sort of unusual lock on it" (my case has a vending machine type drum lock that uses a round key). He went on to say if it had a "regular padlock" they could have just cut it off for inspection. I then told him per their own regulations they were not supposed to open a firearms case without the passenger owner present. I further told him that the contents of the case had been inspected and cleared for travel in Winnipeg. He said TSA does not accept inspection status by Canadian officials. That being the case, I next asked him why we were not contacted during our layover in Denver. He could not tell me why we were never contacted or summonsed to open the case in Denver. Although he did insist that the situation would not have occurred if the case had been equipped with a 'TSA lock'.
With TSA Insisting that the Canadian inspection was 'invalid' the bottom line was that they absolutely, positively, would not allow the case to continue on to Los Angeles without being opened for another inspection of contents. The TSA supervisor could only suggest that we either fly or drive to Denver with a key and stand by while the contents were inspected. The only other option was that they would have to cut the case open which would ruin it.
Finally, after several more days, our case was released after I sent a key to Denver TSA and they inspected the case outside of our presence. This, of course, being in direct violation of their policy about passengers keeping the case locked and maintaining a key in their possession. However, after nearly two weeks our case finally arrived in Los Angeles.
I firmly believe TSA people for the most part are minimum wage, minimally competent imbeciles. This incident in particular further showed me that they most likely don't even know how to tie their own shoes without adult supervision. They certainly no longer seem to know how to contact passengers and follow their own rules about gun cases. For my next return trip on that route later this year I will have my case sent from Winnipeg to Denver where I will pick it up and check it back in to avoid this same thing from happening again.
Sorry to be so long winded, but my contempt for the TSA imbeciles runs deep. I cannot help but believe that the actions of the TSA were punitive by design and part of the anti gun sentiment of our present government.
