U.S.A. -(AmmoLand.com)- According to several media reports, on March 3 California Assemblyman Jim Cooper (D-09) was traveling through a security checkpoint at Sacramento International Airport when the Transportation Security Administration found a loaded gun in his baggage. The Sacramento Bee reported that the firearm was detected by an X-ray screening machine in what was described by Cooper’s Capitol Office as a “male messenger bag which looks like a purse.”
The NRA-ILA F-rated lawmaker was not charged during the incident. In fact, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office told the Sacramento Bee that law enforcement stored the discovered firearm for Cooper while he was on his trip and returned the gun to the lawmaker upon his arrival back in Sacramento.
Law-abiding gun owners who mistakenly bring firearms to airport security checkpoints don’t always enjoy such a seamless experience.
Cal. Penal Code § 171.5 provides,
(b) It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess, within any sterile area of an airport or a passenger vessel terminal, any of the items listed in subdivision (c).
(c) The following items are unlawful to possess as provided in subdivision (b):
(1) Any firearm.
“Sterile area” is defined to include “a portion of an airport defined in the airport security program to which access generally is controlled through the screening of persons and property.”
A violation of Penal Code § 171.5 is “punishable by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding six months, or by a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both that fine and imprisonment.”
Under federal law, those found with firearms at a TSA checkpoint are often subject to stiff fines. According to TSA’s enforcement sanction guidance table, a person found with a loaded gun should be charged a civil fine of $3,000-$10,000 for a first offense.
Cooper is a retired law enforcement officer. California’s prohibition on firearms in the “sterile area” of airports exempts some retired law enforcement officers. Sgt. Rodney Grassmann of the Sacramento County Sheriff’s office confirmed to KCRA that Cooper met the qualifications for this exemption. However, Cooper’s status would not make it legal for the lawmaker to carry a firearm on a plane under federal law.
Despite quite obviously enjoying his own Right-to-Carry, Cooper is no defender of the Second Amendment. In 2016, Cooper authored so-called “ghost gun” legislation in the form of AB857. The bill criminalized the traditional right of Americans to make their own firearms for personal use without government interference.
NRA-ILA understands that otherwise law-abiding gun owners who mistakenly carry a firearm into an airport security checkpoint should be shown the same courtesy as Assemblyman Cooper. That’s why NRA-ILA has worked with state lawmakers to create safe harbor laws that protect gun owners who make this unfortunate mistake.
For example, like California, Texas law outlaws the possession of firearms inside the “secured area” of an airport. However, Texas Penal Code § 46.03(e-1) provides a defense to prosecution for those who,
(1) possessed, at the screening checkpoint for the secured area, a handgun that the actor was licensed to carry under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code; and
(2) exited the screening checkpoint for the secured area immediately upon completion of the required screening processes and notification that the actor possessed the handgun.
NRA-ILA stands ready to work with Cooper on such legislation should the lawmaker be willing to put aside anti-gun politics long enough to extend to all law-abiding Californians the compassion that he was so generously afforded.
About NRA-ILA:
Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the “lobbying” arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess, and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Visit: www.nra.org
Let’s put 20 secounds on the clock : Cooper a democrat anti gun owner really!!! If he was republican assemblyman the democrats would be calling for him to resign immediately. If he was republican the governor of California would be opening a investigation Adam Schiff for brains would be calling for a federal investigation while asking the FBI to raid his home. The FBI would then follow directions from Nancy Pelosi asking for the FBI to confiscate his weapons The democratic Sheriff’s office would have arrested Cooper for a act of terror claiming he is a Russian spy. Maxine Waters… Read more »
A loaded gun in your luggage how ordinary!!!!
He broke the law he should be subject to the same penalties as all Americans who do the same. Now as a retired police officer cooper should know better. As a anti gun sales spokesperson he is now exposed for whom he really is and again as a democrat DO AS I SAY NOT AS I DO.
Shame on him the Sheriff’s office and the TSA , ATF which chose to enforce the laws at their discretion.
The last sentence is chilling to me. The loser has shown his worth, help unelect him, never try working with dolts like this, they will screw you everytime.
The party of hypocrisy
Another “Only One” who believes he is (and must be) more equal than the “civilians”.
Rules for thee . . . FJB/FKH
There needs to be automatic jailtime for politicians like this.
When I was a kid and I did some bonehead thing that got me in trouble, the next time I would see my Grandfather, he would just look at me and say…“well, well, well…” It sounds to me like Cooper will get a similar ‘punishment’ for being a liberal bonehead!
Good for the Goose
Well connected Swamp creatures take care of their own.