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VPC Denounces Passage of 'Arming Pilots Against Te
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
VPC Denounces Passage of 'Arming Pilots Against Terrorism Act';
Urges Senate Not to Make the Same Mistake
To: National Desk
Contact: Naomi Seligman of the Violence Policy Center,
202-822-8200 ext. 105
WASHINGTON, July 11 /U.S. Newswire -- The Violence Policy Center
(VPC) strongly denounced yesterday's passage of the "Arming Pilots
Against Terrorism Act" (H.R. 4635).
"The House of Representatives has collectively misjudged the
effectiveness of guns in the cockpits of our nation's commercial
planes," Kristen Rand, VPC legislative director stated today. "We
strongly urge the Senate not to make the same mistake.
Facts cited by the VPC in opposition to arming pilots look at
the on-the-ground experience of law enforcement personnel:
-- One study found that 21 percent of police officers killed
with a handgun were shot with their own service weapon.
-- Trained law enforcement officers have only an 18 to 22
percent hit ratio in armed confrontations. The cramped quarters of
an airliner do not lend themselves to success.
"Unfortunately, pilots are not infallible. In fact, 84 percent
of all fatal commercial air crashes are the result of pilot error.
In a nation where states prohibit the use of cell phones while
driving, we are relying on pilots of passenger planes, where
hundreds of lives are at stake, to be both policeman and pilot,"
Rand added.
"There are many necessary and constructive steps that can be
taken to protect pilots and passengers short of arming pilots. If
firearms are absolutely necessary, they should be carried by
trained air marshals whose only responsibility is protecting the
safety of crew members and passengers," Rand concluded.
The VPC's comments submitted to the Federal Aviation
Administration on the use of firearms on commercial air flights are
available at http://www.vpc.org.
The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational
organization working to stop gun death and injury in America. For
more information, please visit the VPC's website at
http://www.vp.org.
http://www.usnewswire.com
-0-
/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
07/11 14:00
Copyright 2002, U.S. Newswire
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/prime/0711-136.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878
Urges Senate Not to Make the Same Mistake
To: National Desk
Contact: Naomi Seligman of the Violence Policy Center,
202-822-8200 ext. 105
WASHINGTON, July 11 /U.S. Newswire -- The Violence Policy Center
(VPC) strongly denounced yesterday's passage of the "Arming Pilots
Against Terrorism Act" (H.R. 4635).
"The House of Representatives has collectively misjudged the
effectiveness of guns in the cockpits of our nation's commercial
planes," Kristen Rand, VPC legislative director stated today. "We
strongly urge the Senate not to make the same mistake.
Facts cited by the VPC in opposition to arming pilots look at
the on-the-ground experience of law enforcement personnel:
-- One study found that 21 percent of police officers killed
with a handgun were shot with their own service weapon.
-- Trained law enforcement officers have only an 18 to 22
percent hit ratio in armed confrontations. The cramped quarters of
an airliner do not lend themselves to success.
"Unfortunately, pilots are not infallible. In fact, 84 percent
of all fatal commercial air crashes are the result of pilot error.
In a nation where states prohibit the use of cell phones while
driving, we are relying on pilots of passenger planes, where
hundreds of lives are at stake, to be both policeman and pilot,"
Rand added.
"There are many necessary and constructive steps that can be
taken to protect pilots and passengers short of arming pilots. If
firearms are absolutely necessary, they should be carried by
trained air marshals whose only responsibility is protecting the
safety of crew members and passengers," Rand concluded.
The VPC's comments submitted to the Federal Aviation
Administration on the use of firearms on commercial air flights are
available at http://www.vpc.org.
The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational
organization working to stop gun death and injury in America. For
more information, please visit the VPC's website at
http://www.vp.org.
http://www.usnewswire.com
-0-
/U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
07/11 14:00
Copyright 2002, U.S. Newswire
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/prime/0711-136.html
"If cowardly and dishonorable men sometimes shoot unarmed men with army pistols or guns, the evil must be prevented by the penitentiary and gallows, and not by a general deprivation of a constitutional privilege." - Arkansas Supreme Court, 1878