mods, if this merits inclusion in a more "general" area (as opposed to the news forum) please feel to move the thread. i don't know to what degree one has to be a journalist to reach the threshold of this forum's definition of "news" but i'll take a stab at things here.
in the past, we have discussed the "Flying with Firearms" research that i have done and the lectures i have given on the topic. people have commented how that section of my web site (
http://deviating.net/firearms/packing) has been a useful resource. some people here have even submitted air travel accounts, i believe.
well... on a recent trip to and from San Francisco i encountered more gun-phobia than i could have ever expected. i'll let anyone who is interested view the whole write-up (if you've got a spare 10 minutes or so to scroll on through it) but suffice it to say:
1. there was abysmal failure on the part of the airline, the TSA, and a whole host of other players
2. the luggage policies at part of SFO airport are insane and insecure
3. i was at one point surrounded by four armed, uniformed police officers
4. i wound up missing flights, missing a free first class upgrade, and generally getting screwed
5. this seems to have happened because i was "asking suspicious questions" such as "ah, thank you for your help. what is your name, sir?"
