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Most notable are questions about Donnelly’s gun use, after he pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors related to the discovery of a loaded firearm in his carry-on at Ontario International Airport in 2012. Donnelly, who said he forgot he had the gun,

We have had numerous incidents of celebrities who have done the same thing. He made a mistake. Does that make him some kind of nut?

That Loaded Gun in My Carry-On? Oh, I Forgot

In fact, the T.S.A. says the number of guns found at airport security checkpoints has been steadily rising for the last couple of years. Through Friday, 1,105 guns have been found this year, a pace that is higher than last year’s. In 2011, the total was 1,320, up from 1,123 in 2010, the agency says.

Security experts attribute the increase to two factors: a rise in gun sales and the sharp growth of so-called right-to-carry laws across the country that significantly relax regulations on carrying guns in many areas of public life, from colleges to hospitals.

Invariably, according to the T.S.A., travelers at airports with guns in their carry-on bags say they simply forgot they had them. “It’s almost always inadvertent rather than intentional,” said David Castelveter, a spokesman for the agency