Yes I do feel safer as a result of the increased security awareness. Just a quick grammar note on a typo: you meant to say “hundreds of people affected” -it is so easy to make a slip of the tongue here. The effect of the shut-down was to inconvenience people. But I for one would be happy to take part in what is effectively, an exercise. I think the security people are becoming more and more effective. If they can effect a complete prevention of sky-jacking like a certain other, small, ancient nation, you know you should be glad.

I’m curious what should be the appropriate response when someone sees a handgun behind security, since apparently searching for it was totally inappropriate (or at least that’s the tone I get from the post)…?

Point is a gun wasn’t seen, or it would have been found since the place was locked down and everyone was searched. It’s more of an issue of people being so scared they think everything is a gun.

I understand that… but how would you handle the situation? How do you decide, in an instant, if someone really saw a gun or is imagining things? I’d rather they err on the side of caution than have someone get killed.

I dunno, I think erring on the side of reason is always the best move. There is a really really really really good chance that someone who just walked through a metal detector doesn’t have a handgun jammed in their waistband. Maybe it’s just me…

Anybody stop to think that maybe this was a law enforcement officer who had a right to carry a weapon past the checkpoint. I know air marshals are allowed to carry their weapons on them.

Obviously, the frustrating part is knowing anyone can disrupt thousands and thousands of travellers just by saying they thought they saw something suspicious.

If, by chance, there was a hijacking or another incident that happened after someone reported they saw a gun, but security didn’t act upon it, heads would roll.

Its just a matter of how much safety do we want vs. actual risk?

That said, I think that the TSA overreacts most of the time.

“Anybody stop to think that maybe this was a law enforcement officer”

Entirely possible, but law enforcement offers *should* know better than pulling a gun out of their waistband in public without planning to explain it.