Reader Michael in GA writes:
I’ve been working at Delta Airlines for 31 years. For the previous 20 years of my life, I grew up under the roar of the jets screaming over my head while at school and home in Red Oak, Georgia. The airport is my life and my life has been Delta.
But I may be in search of a new career as of this morning. And not by choice.
Anti-gun hysteria has hit home. Not just close to home, but home. You may not be familiar with the gun smuggling case a few years back involving two former Delta employees who were shipping gun into New York, but you can read about it here and here.
This is where all the bullshit began. As you probably know, New York has very restrictive gun laws. Progressive leaders have successfully infringed on the right to keep and bear arms in the Empire State, a direct violation of the Bill of Rights. This has created a black market for popular arms that are held by many law abiding citizens in free states. States like Georgia.
These former Delta employees smuggled guns to New York City on several Delta flights in order to capitalize on the restrictions unconstitutionally imposed there. After a political zealot, Brooklyn New York District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, prosecuted the case, he pressured his anti-freedom counterpart in Atlanta, Mayor Kasim Reed, to do something about this “egregious breech of security.” Delta, being beholden to the political leaders here, agreed to “give full cooperation” to the authorities in addressing this issue.
What that means is, for the first time in my 30-year career, I now have to be screened before work every day. On the first day, my wife put a steak knife in my lunch to cut some grilled chicken she’d packed for me. The security contractors discovered this “prohibited item” and confiscated it. I was only allowed to proceed to my work area after my supervisor was summoned. I was, however, allowed to retain my job.
Fast forward to last week. On my way out the door, I recalled that I didn’t have a spare magazine in my truck for my personal defense weapon. I like to keep extra ammo handy because the world we live in today is so unpredictable and I have the right to defend myself and my loved ones. So I tossed a spare mag containing 15 9mm defensive cartridges into the cargo pocket of my work pants with the intention of stowing it in my truck.
As you can probably guess, I forgot to remove the magazine from my pocket before approaching the security checkpoint. When the metal detector sounded, I realized my error. I negotiated to return the item to my truck, which was met with resistance. I had to divulge the “prohibited item” and sign a “PIN Form (Prohibited Item Notification), just as I did with the steak knife.
Fine. I’d been through this before. I might be a little late for work, but all would be well. Except this time…guns!
The College Park Police were called. They in turn called the TSA. The TSA called the city’s Department of Aviation, who then called corporate security for Delta. And security called my supervisor.
Guess which one had my back? No one from Delta.
The local police officer was the only person who used any common sense. She said, “Go put it back in your truck.”
But the DoA confiscated my security badge. Delta confiscated my Delta ID. And the security contractor confiscated my GLOCK magazine and ammo.
So I am currently unemployed pending an investigation by the DoA and a review of my file by Delta…a record that is clean with the exception of the steak knife incident. Not that the DoA likely cares. It’s not looking good for the home team. Tell me again how we live in a free nation?