According to what I was told when they stopped me at the airport, the answer to this question is “Yes, He DID get preferential treatment.”
Indiana Republican Rep. John Hostettler, an avid hunter, mistakenly brought a 9-mm handgun to the Louisville, Kentucky, airport on Tuesday and was briefly detained, his press secretary said.
“It was a careless mistake, the congressman acknowledged that,” and he praised Transportation Security Administration screeners for detecting the weapon, his press secretary, Michael Jahr, said.
….But Indiana Democrats called into question the lapse in judgment and whether Hostettler received special treatment.
“Mistakes happen, but we have to be a lot more careful in this age of terrorism,” said Tim Henderson, the campaign manager for Jon Jennings, a Democratic candidate vying for Hostettler’s job. “A couple of questions need to be answered: were any laws broken and did he get preferential treatment?”
Like Rep. Hostettler, I had been careless while packing (a box cutter in my case…having thrown all my packing materials—at the end of a grueling art show in Miami—into my carry on bag and dashing to the airport). But the Sheriff who ran my name through the computer was crystal clear about one fact while we talked. If I had had a gun, he would be forced, by law to arrest me…neither I, nor my travelling companions, would be allowed to get on that flight.
Hostettler got preferential treatment.
He should also be getting a rather formal letter from the Homeland Security Department along with a fine designed to make him more careful next time. If he doesn’t, he’ll be getting preferential treatment twice.
Friend of mine got a $300 fine for a breadknife (cut to $150 for not complaining). But I don’t feel any outrage about a congressman getting a break. What good would it serve? (Ok, run on the evening news it would make a good warning for other gun owners and prevent some future incidents.) I can see some sense in the sheriff in question arresting a fit young man with no background checks – I can’t come up with a good argument not to do at least some profiling.
My guess Rep. Hostettler wins reelection in a land slide.
May I please have a dollar every time the adjective ‘avid’ is attached to ‘hunter’? Oh, and ‘leggy’ to ‘starlet’ also, while we’re at it.
Waitasecond… what does being an ‘avid hunter’ have to do with carrying a 9mm pistol around? It’s not like you’d use one to bag a deer, Danny DeVito in Hoffa to the contrary.
I understand Hostettler is avidly leggy. And will win in a landslide. Because the electorate, being shallow in a majoritarian sort of way, likes leggy, avid and armed.
I’m armed.
Whaddya think’s gonna happen at the airport? I plan to show a little leg, too.
That was my first thought, Moe. It’s like saying “Rep. John Hostettler, an avid haberdasher, mistakenly brought..”
Timmy-
“My guess Rep. Hostettler wins reelection in a land slide.”
Not to pick on you but how is this even remotely relavent to the post?
I’d cut you some slack if you have some detailed knowledge about Rep. Hostettler and his Democratic opponent.
When you post a comment have a point.
Now to my point. People who attempt to bring a gun through airport security should be detained and not allowed on their flight this goes for everyone. No one should be able to drop their name and get a pass. What if by some freak chance a bad guy got a hold of a gun brought on to a plane by Hostettler? Bad deal all around.
Well, I’d think that there should be something a little more severe for bringing a gun on the plane. I accidentally brought my extra magnetic bit screwdriver and all my extra security bits along. They didn’t let me take it along, but they were nice enough to let me mail it home to myself.
I guess he just tried to act as nicely as possible to the security people, which helps. If he started yelling about how he’s a Representative and would do everything within his power to get the poor peon fired for their insolence, he’d be sitting in Gitmo right now. People don’t like jerks, and they’ll show it any way possible. If you say please, thank you, and all that stuff to people, you’d be suprised how much better service you get.
Psetzer, granted that’s probably so: but if he hadn’t been a Representative, it doesn’t matter how polite he’d been, he’d still have ended up missing his flight. Edward’s right: he got privileged treatment because he name-dropped.
He won’t win in a landslide, in fact he’ll probably lose. He’s got one of the most contested races in the country. A couple of years he accused a group of breast cancer survivors of all having abortions because they had gotten breast cancer.