The rising prevalence of weapons in unsafe arming configurations discovered in American airports

Recent studies have shown that Americans appear to be increasingly owning and carrying firearms for personal protection, and are increasingly storing their firearms loaded. However, the prevalence of firearm carry and/or storage behaviors with a round chambered has not hitherto been studied in any context, including among airline passengers. We analyze firearms detected at Transportation Security Administration (TSA) airport security check-points between 2012 to 2017, to examine geospatial and temporal trends in the prevalence of unsafe arming configuration in detected firearms. The fraction of detected firearms found to be loaded has risen significantly since 2012, with 3.9% [1.2%, 6.7%] relative increase in odds per year (Beta Binomial regression, p = 0.011). States with firearm child access prevention laws have significantly fewer firearms found by the TSA to be loaded ( p = 0.039). The fraction of loaded firearms found by the TSA to also have a round chambered has also risen significantly since 2012, with 5.3% [2.7%,7.9%] relative increase in odds per year (Beta Binomial regression, p < 0.001). By 2017, 36% of firearms found loaded were also found to have a round chambered. Some Americans appear to be increasingly using and storing firearms in unsafe arming configurations. This poses potential risks to airport security personnel and other travelers in airports. Understanding the geospatial patterns in these risks can help guide optimization of regional screening practices and optimal economical allocation of TSA resources.