We know that Esteban Santiago killed five and wounded eight more in his cold-blooded, planned attack at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Less than two months prior, the former national guardsman with a less-than-honorable discharge walked into the FBI office in Anchorage and said the U.S. government was controlling his mind and forcing him to watch ISIS group videos. There were also some domestic violence issues in his immediate past. He had a gun and a newborn baby in his car and a loaded magazine on his person.
Warning signs, anyone?
They took his gun, evaluated him for a few days, released him and returned his weapon. Another day at the Anchorage office. No follow-up and free to fly anywhere. Santiago then bought a one-way ticket to Fort Lauderdale, took no luggage except his unloaded gun and ammo that he legally checked separately, and opened fire at the baggage carousel upon landing.
Where to start? Let’s begin with federal rules that look like they could have been written by Florida legislators. They allow airline passengers, including the manifestly mentally unhinged, to transport unloaded firearms as checked baggage. Ammo can also be carried separately in checked baggage. The firearm, ammunition and owner can later be reunited upon arrival in an unsecured area. Santiago broke no laws until he murdered five innocents awaiting their luggage.
Apparently treating areas such as baggage claims, check-in counters and passenger pickup zones the same as we treat screening checkpoints could be a logistical nightmare in many airports. But let’s at least treat the transportation of weapons with some common sense. The onus is on the passenger to make a compelling case for needing to have his weapon and magazine clips along for the ride.
“You can’t have (more than) 3.4 ounces of shampoo, but we’re allowing people to travel with guns?” rhetorically asks tourism and security expert Peter Tarlow. That security incongruity made little sense before Fort Lauderdale. It makes none now. There’s nothing as tragic as a preventable tragedy.