Aztlan has some pretty lax weapons laws—even resident aliens can carry handguns without a license. But Air Montezuma doesn’t like firefights on its flights, and so my Beretta and Rafael’s Streetline Special had to be checked through as luggage. A clerk placed them in foam-lined red plastic boxes that would remain sealed for the duration of the flight, scanned a thumbprint onto the claim tags she slapped on them, and then directed us to our boarding gate.