Security officials discovered 140 guns in carry-on bags at Denver International Airport in 2019.

The Transportation Security Administration last week disclosed that the 4,432 firearms confiscated nationwide represented a 5% increase from 2018. Nearly 90% of those guns were loaded.

“There is a proper way to travel safely with a firearm,” said TSA Administrator David Pekoske. “First and foremost, it should be unloaded. Then it should be packed in a hard-sided locked case, taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared, and checked.”

The Denver Post reports that since 2017, there have been over 100 gun seizures per year at DIA.

Only airports in Atlanta and Dallas/Fort Worth had higher confiscation numbers in 2019, with 323 and 217, respectively. Confiscations nationally have increased by 400% since 2010.

People who bring firearms to a TSA checkpoint, even with a permit, are subject to criminal charges and civil penalties.

The most high-profile violation in recent years came in December 2017, when Rep. Lori Saine, R-Dacono, brought a loaded semiautomatic handgun to a DIA checkpoint. Police arrested her and she spent the night in the Denver jail.

“The evidence in this case indicates that Lori Saine forgot the firearm was in her purse,” concluded the Boulder County District Attorney’s office, which investigated the incident, adding that there was not a sufficient case to be made for filing charges.