Politicians Propose Allowing Nuclear Plant Guards To Carry Automatic Weapons
NEW YORK (AP) - Two assemblymen from Westchester County have submitted a bill that would allow security guards at New York State's nuclear power plants to carry automatic weapons.
"It's bizarre to realize that, although we get bland assurances of security, that these guys are not armed with the kind of weapons terrorists might have," Richard Brodsky, a Democrat of Elmsford, told The New York Times in Thursday editions.
He said that gun control laws forbid private guards from carrying automatic weapons and that the semiautomatic arms they are permitted to carry do not fire as rapidly as automatics.
Brodsky introduced the bill with Assemblyman Adam Bradley, a Democrat of White Plains.
Brodsky, who supports closing the Indian Point nuclear power plants in Buchanan, 35 miles north of Manhattan, said that security at the facilities is too lax and poses a threat to public health and safety.
Earlier this week, State Senator James Wright, a Republican of Watertown, introduced a bill to give security guards at nuclear and electric generating plants peace officer status, which would allow them to carry automatic weapons and make arrests.
Both the Senate and Assembly proposals would enable the guards to use deadly force. Currently, they can only fire in self-defense.
Jim Steets, a spokesman for Entergy Corporation, which owns Indian Point, told the Times that the company supports heightening the guards' ability to protect the plant.
A spokeswoman for Gov. George Pataki said the governor would like to federalize security at the nuclear plant, the paper said.
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