Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- “Of course, you can’t take a gun through an airport checkpoint and we’ve found reports of thieves stealing guns that travelers leave in their cars,” Fox 8 News documents. “Cleveland Police reports show, twice in the last week, thieves have stolen guns from cars in the main parking garage at Hopkins Airport… The travelers say they locked their cars with their guns inside, yet they came back to find they’d been ripped off.”
There have also apparently been 13 cars stolen in just the first quarter of this year, leading to the natural questions of “Why?” and “How”? Isn’t there any security? Aren’t there any cameras? Don’t you need a ticket to get out?
The answer is “Yes” in all three cases, which leads to some interesting considerations to speculate about. Not to cast unfounded aspersions, but with headlines like “8 TSA Workers, 1 Pilot Arrested In Parking-Pass Scandal At DFW Airport,” “Ex-airport worker charged in parking fee thefts,” “OIA parking worker arrested after skimming credit cards,” and “30 Airport Parking Workers Seized in Embezzlement Case,” is it really out of line to wonder if investigators have considered at least the possibility of an inside job?
“Oddly, in the stolen gun reports we reviewed, all of the victims said they had left their cars locked, but police did not find any signs of broken glass or forced entry,” the Fox 8 News report concludes. It’s hardly odd if one considers that thieves don’t want to attract undue attention and there are easier, quieter, and less destructive and immediately discoverable ways to open locked cars, such as DIY “80% ghost slim jims” (shown here “for educational purposes only”).
For its part, Cleveland Hopkins has turned to its professional wordsmiths to come up with a statement that pledges a totally noncommittal “commitment,” admits no liability, and without coming right out and saying so, tells travelers they need to make the trip to and from the airport unarmed:
“At Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, we are committed to providing the highest level of safety and security for our guests … To help prevent this from happening in any of our parking areas, we encourage visitors and travelers who intend to park their vehicle to remove any valuable or personal items prior to leaving for the airport.”
So, who cares if you have to pass through all kinds of unfamiliar places at all hours? It’s not like tires ever go flat or the “Check Engine” light ever comes on, and carjackings only happen on the news. To other people. At Cleveland Hopkins…
And speaking of parking garages…
Washing their hands of it and avoiding responsibility is an easy call for airport administrators to make, and it’s not like they have a legally binding duty to protect those rendered defenseless by mandates. Besides, as the violence monopolists constantly tell anyone they can get to listen, defensive gun uses rarely happen to the point of being negligible.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating/defending the RKBA and a long-time gun owner rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament. He blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” is a regularly featured contributor to Firearms News, and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.