Sixteen firearms were intercepted by Transportation Security Administration officers at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport security checkpoints in 2024, the agency said in statement Wednesday.

That’s the third straight year the number of guns caught at MKE, Wisconsin’s largest airport, has dropped.

More: Flights canceled, delayed at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on one of its busiest travel days of the year

“Bringing a firearm to the checkpoint is a careless, dangerous mistake that can be easily avoided,” Wisconsin TSA Federal Security Director Mark Lendvay said in the statement. “When individuals bring firearms to our checkpoints, they are introducing a risk to everyone in the area.

“These incidents also slow down the checkpoint screening process for other travelers because when a firearm is detected, all activity in the lane comes to a complete halt until police arrive. Unloaded firearms can be packed with checked baggage and declared to the airline.”

In 2023, 19 handguns were found at MKE security checkpoints, and 21 were seized in 2022. Twenty three firearms were caught at MKE security checkpoints in 2021.

More: Traveling out of Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport for spring break? Here’s how to do it best

How many people did TSA screen at Wisconsin airports in 2024?

At MKE, TSA screened nearly 3.6 million departing passengers and flight crews in 2024. Officers there discovered firearms in carry-on luggage at a rate of 4.5 firearms per million passengers screened.

This calculates to a rate of one firearm discovery for every 222,413 travelers screened.

TSA officers stopped a total of 29 firearms at Wisconsin’s commercial airports in 2024, which is down from the year before when 36 were intercepted, TSA data shows.

The other Wisconsin airport numbers were six firearms at Dane County Regional, three at Appleton International and Central Wisconsin Airport, and one at Green Bay Austin Strabel International.

Nationally, the TSA screened more than 904 million passengers in 2024, and prevented more than 6,600 firearms from getting onto flights, down from 6,737 in 2023, the agency said in its statement.

The vast majority of the weapons caught last year – 94% of them – were loaded.

More: More than 250,000 people will travel through Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport this holiday season

What happens when someone is caught with a gun at an airport?

Firearm possession laws vary by state and locality. But, in short: violators are subject to law enforcement action.

TSA fines passengers who bring a firearm to a TSA checkpoint also can face a civil penalty up to about $15,000, and can lose their TSA PreCheck eligibility for at least five years.

More: For the next 10 days flyers are able to sign up for TSA PreCheck at Milwaukee’s airport

Here’s how you can fly with your gun

Passengers are permitted to travel with firearms in checked baggage if they are unloaded and packed separately from ammunition in a locked hardback case. Guns need to be declared at the airline check-in counter.

Travelers should check for firearm laws in the jurisdictions they are flying to and from.

To learn more

TSA posts details on how to properly travel with a firearm on its website. Travelers should also contact their air carrier for any additional requirements for flying with firearms and ammunition.

WEST ALLIS, Wis. – Wisconsin State Fair officials announced on Wednesday, Jan. 15 that Boyz II Men will return to the State Fair to headline the Bank Five Nine Main Stage on Friday, Aug. 1, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. 

What we know:

Tickets go on sale Friday, Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. at WiStateFair.com. All seating for this show is reserved, and tickets will be $47 – $62. 

Each ticket includes admission to the 2025 Wisconsin State Fair for the day of the show when purchased prior to entering the State Fair Park.   

Become a Friend of the Fair:

Tickets are available for pre-sale with the Friends of the Fair membership, which benefits the Wisconsin State Fair Park Foundation. This non-profit organization helps support the State Fair and State Fair Park initiatives. 

SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News

Get access to the pre-sale and become a Friend of the Fair by visiting WSFPFoundation.org. 

Wisconsin’s Democratic governor on Tuesday created a new office dedicated to preventing gun violence, a month after a school shooting not far from the state Capitol and an idea that drew immediate opposition from Republicans who said it was misguided.

Gov. Tony Evers also called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to pass a series of gun control and public safety measures, saying reducing violence should be a “shared priority that transcends politics.”

The Legislature has already rejected numerous gun control measures put forward by Evers, including universal background checks for gun purchases. But Evers said the shooting at Abundant Life Christian School last month demonstrated the need for lawmakers to act.

“Reducing crime and violence should be an issue that receives earnest bipartisan support,” Evers said at a news conference surrounded by gun control advocates, Democratic lawmakers and the mayor and police chief of Madison who responded to last month’s school shooting.

Republicans were not on board.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos blasted the proposal as “not well thought out” and said it amounts to “a whole bunch of touchy feely bureaucrats that are going to go around wasting time, wasting money and certainly not putting the effort where it’s deserved.”

“You know what the most effective violence prevention office is? The police,” Vos said at a news conference.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu was noncommittal, but he emphasized that GOP lawmakers have supported spending on other initiatives to address violence, including creating a state Office of School Safety.

Evers signed an executive order creating a statewide office of violence prevention, a move that does not require legislative approval. He said the office will work with local partners, including law enforcement agencies, nonprofits, school districts and gun shop owners with the goal of reducing gun violence.

Creating the office was discussed prior to the school shooting, but the shooting “cemented” his plans, Evers said.

Madison Police Chief Shon Barnes, who is leaving next month to become Seattle’s chief of police, called the new anti-violence office a “transformative approach to understanding and addressing the root causes of violence in our society.”

“No city, no matter the size, reputation, or claim to fame, is immune from gun violence,” Barnes said. “We must recognize that to truly safeguard our neighborhoods, we need a comprehensive understanding of violence that goes beyond traditional policing.”

The office will work to develop public education campaigns and promote safer communities, Evers said. It will also award grants to reduce violence, in particular gun violence, to school districts, firearm dealers, law enforcement agencies, nonprofits and government agencies.

Evers announced $10 million in federal funding to create the office. He said his state budget being submitted to the Legislature next month will request more state money to sustain the office over the next two years.

Vos said Assembly Republicans would oppose the request.

Evers also said he would be proposing a sweeping package of gun violence and public safety measures.

Republican majorities in the Legislature shrunk after the November election, leading Evers and Democrats to say they hoped for more bipartisanship and consideration of ideas that have been summarily rejected in the past. But following the Dec. 16 shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison that left a student, teacher and the 15-year-old shooter dead, Republicans have not voiced support for any gun control measures backed by Democrats.

Wisconsin polls have repeatedly shown high public support for a variety of gun control measures.

Evers in 2019 called a special session of the Legislature to pass a universal gun background check bill and a “red flag” proposal that would allow judges to take guns away from people determined to be a risk to themselves or others. Republicans immediately adjourned without debating the measures. It was the first of a dozen special sessions Evers has called since 2019, none of which have been successful.

Democrats have reintroduced those and more than two dozen other gun safety bills over the past six years, but Republicans have repeatedly refused to take them up. Republicans, instead, have introduced bills that would expand access to guns and discussed arming teachers. Evers in 2022 vetoed Republican bills that would have allowed holders of concealed carry permits to have firearms in vehicles on school grounds and in churches located on the grounds of a private school.