My gun was randomly checked at the airport and I was banned from flying American Airlines for life

So here's my story. Yesterday, I was flying out to Colorado for a trip. I was flying with American Airlines. I was flying out of an airport that isn't near me, but I had to because it was the cheapest option.<br><br>So my flight was scheduled for 6:40, so I got to the airport around 4:30, which should've been enough time. I walk up to the front desk, and she does the whole "well you're not going to make your flight on time." And I was like "I think I will." Anyways, I had already checked in and had my bag tag, so I put my suitcase right on the conveyor belt and the guy working there randomly tested it. I'm assuming it was random because I don't have any sort of flags on my name, I'm only 19, and I have TSA Precheck, so I'm really not sure why. <br><br>He tests it, and it supposedly comes out with a "trace amount of explosive material" on it, which I know was bullshit because I had just randomly been tested. Anyways, they call me aside and take my stuff out of the bin, and they start swabbing random items and my suitcase and it kept coming out positive. I was like "it's probably because of my shoes" because I wear Vans and they have that black stuff on the bottom. So they swab that, and it comes out negative. Then they swab my gun case, and it comes out positive. But it comes out as 0.00 so I'm assuming it's bullshit again. They end up testing every single thing in my luggage, which I thought was overkill for trace amounts but whatever. <br><br>After that, they give me the bag back, and I'm on my way. I get through security with no issues, and my flight is actually about to start boarding. I walk to my gate, and the guy at the gate comes up to me and is like "oh, you're the guy with the gun." I was like "yea." He asked me if I was in the military or police, and I was like "no." Then he told me that it was against policy for him to allow me on the plane because I had come up positive for explosive material. I was like "but it was clearly bullshit, right? I'm not going to blow up the plane," and he was like "no, I can't let you on, you can't bring it with you." So I was like "then what am I supposed to do? Just abandon it?" And he was like "yea." <br><br>So I'm like shit, I don't know what to do at this point. Once I'm there, I immediately call my dad, and he's all pissed off. He's like "what the hell is going on?" And then I tell him I have to abandon my gun, and he's like "no way, you're going to do what you have to do." Like I was going to do what I had to do, but it was just a huge inconvenience. <br><br>So I go back through security again, and I'm pissed off at this point because I'm already running late for my flight. I walk back to the front desk, and all of the agents are standing there, and they're all like "oh, you didn't get on the plane?" And I was like "yea, I couldn't." So they offered to call the police for me, and I was like "no, that's fine. I'll just take a fucking Uber back home." <br><br>So I call my dad again and tell him what's going on. He was like "fuck that, I'm coming to get you." So he drove all the way back down to get me, and I was stuck in the airport for a couple hours. So that sucked, and we took off right when I was supposed to be landing.<br><br>Now for the update. So earlier today, I got a call from American Airlines, and it was a woman. She was asking me about my experience on the flight yesterday (even though I didn't end up flying) and I told her about the whole thing. She was like "it's against policy for us to let anyone with trace amounts of explosive material on, it's a liability issue." And I was like "yea, I get that, but I'm not going to blow up a goddamn plane," and she was like "yea, well it doesn't matter. It's a liability issue." So I was like "so what now?" And she was like "well you're banned from flying with us for life." And I was like "what? Are you fucking kidding me?" And she was like "no, it's company policy. You'll get an email in the mail about it later today, and you'll also receive a refund for your ticket." So I was like "well fuck, that sucks." But it doesn't really matter because I've only flown with American Airlines like once or twice in my life, and it will never be again after this bullshit. <br><br>They're also supposed to send me a copy of the report from the guy who tested my bag, but I haven't gotten it in the mail yet.<br><br>EDIT: Wow, didn't expect this to blow up. So they did actually end up getting my flight, and it's so dumb. Anyways, thanks for the support.<br><br>EDIT 2: Wow, you guys actually got me over the 1k mark. I was thinking maybe it would get around 500 upvotes, but the support is crazy. So what I'm going to do is use that money to buy a plane ticket for this weekend, because fuck American Airlines.