# Does this Univ. President have a case re suing Delta Airlines for not telling him about NY gun laws? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2012, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888 "2012-06-12T06:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/21 "2012-06-12T19:26:02Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > I’m totally with you, right up to the point where the article said Delta was legally required to contact the police, and that this incident happened on the RETURN flight, after the guy was illegally carrying a gun the entire time he was visiting NYC. Delta didn’t narc on him when he landed, but when he declared that he was carrying a weapon illegally to the ticket agent in NYC. > > It’s not Delta’s job to inform you of all local laws, nor do they have to pretend they didn’t hear you declare your illegal actions, when they are required to report them. The articles aren’t clear on this point. The airline’s lawyer says the airline was legally obligated to report this. Benedetto’s lawyer says the airline was following its own policy. Without knowing the specifics, I’m guessing there’s no specific law mandating an airline report somebody carrying a weapon. The airline was probably legally obligated to report this only in the same general sense that you or I would be obligated to report it if we knew somebody was breaking a law. ---
**Author:** ![Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tastes_of_chocolate/32/3232_2.png) [@Tastes\_of\_Chocolate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tastes_of_Chocolate)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/22 "2012-06-12T19:27:20Z")
What if the passenger had been flying to another country, rather than to another state? Is it the airlines responsibility to inform passengers of weapons/alcohol/porn etc laws for all destinations? How about a passenger train company, a bus company, or if I want to rent a car in one jurisdiction and drive to another? There is no way that transportation providers can know all of the circumstances and laws. The airlines didn’t know if the passenger was actually leaving the airport in NY, or maybe he had a license to carry/transport a gun in NYC. It was Mr. Benedetto’s responsibility to know the laws of the place he was going. He neglected to do that. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/23 "2012-06-12T19:32:54Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > So I think he’s claiming the agent in SD should have told him about the NYC gun laws when he declared the gun there. I don’t see why he’d think the NYC agent would/should have told him about the laws before calling the police, since he was obviously in violation of the law at that point anyway. It’s unrealistic to expect an airline employee to know all the local laws for every destination their planes fly to. It’s realistic for the NY employee to know the local laws for his own locality. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/24 "2012-06-12T22:05:34Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > It’s unrealistic to expect an airline employee to know all the local laws for every destination their planes fly to. It’s realistic for the NY employee to know the local laws for his own locality. So what was the NY employee supposed to do? He clearly couldn’t tell Benedetto not to bring the firearm to NY , as he had already done that.The NY employee clearly did know the local laws- as he reported the incident to the Port Authority police. Only a South Dakota employee could have warned him not to bring the gun to NY- but the SD employee can’t be expected to know the NY law. ``` Of course, Benedetto, being a university president and all, might have been well- informed enough to have an inkling that some states might have different restrictions on firearms than South Dakota and that it is extremely difficult to obtain a concealed carry permit in NYC. And let's not forget- he left SD on 9/28 and presumably arrived in NYC and picked up his luggage with the firearm inside on that same date. After spending 5 days in NY, he went to LaGuardia for his return flight on 10/2 and that's when this incident occurred. It's not like Delta had him arrested when he arrived at LaGuardia from South Dakota, or while he was on a layover. ``` ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2012, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/25 "2012-06-13T13:48:46Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > It’s unrealistic to expect an airline employee to know all the local laws for every destination their planes fly to. It’s realistic for the NY employee to know the local laws for his own locality. I completely agree, which is why I think his case has absolutely no merit. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/26 "2012-06-14T05:05:56Z")
> [@doreen](#): > > So what was the NY employee supposed to do? He clearly couldn’t tell Benedetto not to bring the firearm to NY , as he had already done that.The NY employee clearly did know the local laws- as he reported the incident to the Port Authority police. Only a South Dakota employee could have warned him not to bring the gun to NY- but the SD employee can’t be expected to know the NY law. Delta did everything reasonable in this case. I was agreeing with them. There’s no reasonable way they could have warned him, and once they were aware of things, they followed the law. ---
**Author:** ![azraiel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@azraiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/azraiel)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 7:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/27 "2012-06-14T07:47:06Z")
> [@iamthewalrus\_3](#): > > Delta did everything reasonable in this case. I was agreeing with them. There’s no reasonable way they could have warned him, and once they were aware of things, they followed the law. I have to disagree. I’ve had multiple airlines tell me that I would be breaking the law in the place I arrived. (The fact that the airlines were usually (almost always) wrong doesn’t negate the fact that the airlines went out of their way to inform me that I would run afoul of the law where I landed.) ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/28 "2012-06-14T13:11:03Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > I have to disagree. I’ve had multiple airlines tell me that I would be breaking the law in the place I arrived. (The fact that the airlines were usually (almost always) wrong doesn’t negate the fact that the airlines went out of their way to inform me that I would run afoul of the law where I landed.) That’s a nice thing to do, but not their duty, and as you experienced directly, an unreliable favor. ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/29 "2012-06-14T13:18:46Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > I have to disagree. I’ve had multiple airlines tell me that I would be breaking the law in the place I arrived. (The fact that the airlines were usually (almost always) wrong doesn’t negate the fact that the airlines went out of their way to inform me that I would run afoul of the law where I landed.) I’ve had multiple friends give me rides to places when I didn’t have a car. I cannot sue my current friends for failing to give me a ride when I ask for one. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/30 "2012-06-14T14:41:35Z")
I believe in personal responsibility. Since the passenger is the one who will suffer the consequences of his illegal actions, it is his responsibility to research the local law regarding guns. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [June 14, 2012, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/31 "2012-06-14T19:32:26Z")
> [@azraiel](#): > > I have to disagree. I’ve had multiple airlines tell me that I would be breaking the law in the place I arrived. (The fact that the airlines were usually (almost always) wrong doesn’t negate the fact that the airlines went out of their way to inform me that I would run afoul of the law where I landed.) Nice of them, but not a duty. And the fact that they were almost always wrong bolsters the argument that it’s unrealistic to expect TSA agents to know the laws of every destination in the world. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/32 "2012-06-15T00:04:01Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I’m not sure about the legal side, but i have to say that Delta doesn’t come out of this looking very good. > > Their staff let him fly with the gun, and then another member of their staff called the New York cops on him. That’s pretty fucked up. You’s think an airline that allows you to transport guns would at least take the effort to let you know if you were headed for a destination where carrying that gun would probably be illegal. > > The guy was also an idiot for not checking first. Surely any gun owner must be cognizant enough of the large differences in policies across the country that they should know to check local laws before taking a weapon with them? 100% correct, is what you are. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/33 "2012-06-15T02:16:06Z")
> [@handsomeharry](#): > > 100% correct, is what you are. Except that’s not an accurate account of what happened. He flew from SD to NYC on the 28th - is it reasonable to expect the SD agent to know NYC gun laws? Then he checked in at NYC on the 2nd - the gate agent there knew the NYC gun laws and claims to be required to report (no idea if that is true). But either way, it’s the traveler’s responsibility to know the local laws about transporting guns. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/34 "2012-06-15T04:06:54Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Except that’s not an accurate account of what happened. What’s inaccurate about it? I said: Their staff let him fly with the gun, and then another member of their staff called the New York cops on him. Both statements in that sentence are true. It is not a complete account, but it is not an inaccurate one. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/35 "2012-06-15T09:51:31Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > What’s inaccurate about it? Well… > [@](#): > > It is not a complete account It leaves out a number of details, oversimplifies the situation. Not the least of which is the apparent requirement that their ticket agents need to know, off the top of their heads, laws from across the country&world regarding who the hell knows what type of illegal activity travelers might engage in. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/36 "2012-06-15T11:15:11Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > Why would they know he was breaking the law? There ARE people in NYC who are allowed to carry concealed weapons. pkbites took his [pistol](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=14413529&postcount=78) on a trip to NYC, went through LaGuardia, filled out paperwork regarding the checked pistol and had no trouble at all. The difference is that **pkbites** is a police officer who was able to get his weapon into NYC because he’s a cop. That being said, I’m not entirely clear on why Benedetto thought he needed a bring a gun along on his trip. If he’s responsible and knowledgeable enough to pack the gun in his checked baggage, surely he’d be responsible enough to research NYC’s gun laws, especially since those are somewhat notorious among gun buffs. I’d think the prosecutor (or whoever) would be able to use that against him. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 11:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/37 "2012-06-15T11:29:21Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > It is not a complete account, but it is not an inaccurate one. It is crafted in a way to leave an inaccurate impression. The separation in time and physical location makes it pretty clear that the airline could not be reasonably expected to warn/protect the traveler. Your account makes it look like the airline set him up for arrest. It is inaccurate because important key details are left out. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/38 "2012-06-15T16:09:09Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > It is crafted in a way to leave an inaccurate impression. The separation in time and physical location makes it pretty clear that the airline could not be reasonably expected to warn/protect the traveler. Your account makes it look like the airline set him up for arrest. It is inaccurate because important key details are left out. My point was accurate for the purposes of my argument. I don’t care very much what you got out of it. I was simply arguing that if the airline takes no legal position on a person carrying a gun, then that policy should be consistent. If they’re not going to warn people, they shouldn’t report them either. And if they’re going to report them, they should go out of their way to warn them. I don’t care that one agent was in SD and the other was in NY; the company’s policy should be consistent. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/39 "2012-06-15T16:39:20Z")
According the the first story (no idea if it is true) the airline staff in NYC is required to report it. I still don’t see where the airline is in the wrong. Some people (like our own Loach) carried his gun legally through the same procedures. Is the airline supposed to verify which passengers have the right paperwork? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2012, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888/40 "2012-06-15T16:55:10Z")
From the [Delta website:](http://www.delta.com/traveling_checkin/baggage/special_baggage/sports_equipment/index.jsp#shooting) > [@](#): > > If you need to travel with a weapon as checked baggage, you are responsible for knowledge of and compliance with all Federal, State, or Local laws regarding the possession and transportation of firearms. For more information about this regulation you can visit the TSA site. It’s possible that the declaration you sign has a similar disclaimer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-this-univ-president-have-a-case-re-suing-delta-airlines-for-not-telling-him-about-ny-gun-laws/624888.md?page=3)