cuchulainn
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http://www.cato.org/dispatch/02-20-03d.html
Airline Pilots May Soon Be Armed
Airline Pilots May Soon Be Armed
The Washington Post reports, "In the first detailed plan for arming commercial airline pilots, the federal government said yesterday that it will soon begin training that would, as soon as next month, allow a limited number of pilots to carry holstered handguns while flying. A task force of the Transportation Security Administration recommended yesterday that pilots who want to carry guns undergo extensive psychological and medical checks and attend five days of classroom and firearms training before being issued guns."
Cato Insitute Senior Editor Gene Healy and Senior Fellow Robert A. Levy argue for this approach to airline security in the "Restoring the Right to Bear Arms" section of the Cato Handbook for Congress. They write: "Just as armed citizens can deter aggression on our city streets, they can do so in our nation's skies. On September 11, 2001, a few hijackers armed with box cutters were able to hold scores of airline passengers at bay, secure in the knowledge that American airplanes are gun-free zones. But when we turn planes, airports, schools, and workplaces into gun-free zones, we also turn them into criminal-safe zones. If on the other hand we make it nearly certain that someone will be armed on every commercial flight, the enemies of liberty will have second thoughts about using American aircraft as weapons of mass destruction.
"An armed pilots program would be strictly voluntary. It would require extensive background screening and psychological testing, as well as classroom and practical training, roughly equivalent to what sky marshals would receive. After all, we now allow weapons on planes if they're carried by sheriffs, FBI and Secret Service agents, postal inspectors, and bodyguards of foreign dignitaries. If those risks are acceptable, then let's arm pilots who can protect all passengers' lives. Better yet, leave it up to the individual airlines. They own the property and they can set the rules.
"For too long, elite opinion in America has been implacably opposed to armed self-defense. The underlying philosophy, expressed by Pete Shields, former president of Handgun Control, is that 'the best defense is . . . no defense-give them what they want.' After September 11, that philosophy is no longer valid, if it ever was."