Two House Democrats called on Thursday the Transportation Security Administration to take action against the increasing threat from firearms at airports. This comes just days after an uninvited Republican congressman was arrested. bringing a gun to a TSA checkpoint.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.) was arrested Tuesday for a misdemeanor charge. This happened after the TSA intercepted an loaded 9mm pistol as it went through security checks at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Cawthorn had reportedly taken a Glock 9mm unloaded handgun from him just over a year before. TSA agents found it in Cawthorn’s carry-on bag.

A criminal defense lawyer told CNBCAfter the recent incident, it was discovered that carrying a firearm at Charlotte Douglas Airport is an offense to city ordinances which “more often than you think” can lead to an arrest.

TSA Administrator David Pekoske was urged by the House Democrats to take swift action to prevent repeat offenders such as Rep. Cawthorn from being subject to the entire extent of enforcement actions.

“Members of Congress on both sides of the aisle agree that those who break the law and endanger the safety of other passengers — and especially repeat offenders such as Rep. Cawthorn — must be held to account,” read the letter from Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and transportation subcommittee Chairwoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J.

The authors wrote, “TSA must pursue appropriate actions without fear or favor towards all such offenders regardless of whether these are public figures such like Rep. Cawthorn.”

CNBC reached out to Cawthorn for clarification but a spokesperson did not respond immediately. Cawthorn posted Wednesday on Instagram that the gun had been accidentally left in his bag.

Cawthorn stated in the blog post that “Even though you fly all the times and have a tendency to grab your bag and go, take the extra 30-60 second to double-check your bags to ensure everything is as it should be.” I made an error yesterday. There is no excuse, it was a simple mistake.

Cawthorn smiles in the accompanying video, saying he was on his way home from Washington, D.C., having just cleared a TSA screening without any other incidents.

Cawthorn shared the good news, saying, “Really Good News: Just passed TSA. There were no major alarms. Nothing terrible happened.” He also said, “Fly Safe, don’t carry a gun in your baggage.

House freshman, 26, has attracted criticism from all sides. following his recent claimsConcerning members of Congress that use drugs and invite them to orgies.

Another North Carolina Republican, Senator Thom Tillis, demanded a House investigation into ethics following claims that Cawthorn had been harmed. may have violated insider trading rulesbecause of his association to anti-Biden cryptocurrency. Tillis has publicly supported Cawthorn’s principal challenger.

Thompson and Coleman wrote that Cawthorn was having problems with security at airports because of a rise in passengers who brought guns to check in.

These were cited TSA dataThese incidents are now more common per passenger than ever since 2019. In 2021, nearly 6000 firearms were found at checkpoints. According to the TSA, 86% of guns that were captured in 2018 contained loaded firearms.

TSA checks have seen an increase in firearms since 2008 (with the exception of 2020 when thousands of flights were grounded by the coronavirus pandemic). TSA claimed that 926 guns were seized at checkpoints. By 2021 that number had risen to 5,972.

Last month the Homeland Security Committee discussed legislationColeman sponsored this initiative, which was designed to improve safety and stiffen penalties at airports for gun offenders. It included suspending the eligibility for trust-traveler perks as well as imposing minimum civil penalties for repeated violations.