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Compromise Would Let 250 Airline Pilots Carry Guns
Josey1
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Compromise Would Let 250 Airline Pilots Carry Guns
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 19, 2002; Page A10
Key Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the House yesterday agreed to a proposal that would allow 250 airline pilots to carry guns during a two-year experimental program.
The plan, which is scheduled for a vote today by the House aviation subcommittee, is a compromise that was reached in an attempt to address the concerns of some members of Congress that arming pilots might endanger passengers or other crew members.
Since the Sept. 11 hijackings, pilots have lobbied aggressively for the right to have guns in the cockpit. The compromise measure is a scaled-down version of a bill introduced last month that would have permitted the arming of far more pilots.
Under the new proposal, 250 pilots who have gone through a training program similar to one offered to federal air marshals would be allowed to carry guns. That number would be expanded to about 1,400 by the end of the two-year experiment.
During that time, the government would further study the risk of misfiring a gun aboard an airplane. After two years, the Transportation Security Administration could cancel or expand the program.
TSA chief John W. Magaw and the White House oppose the idea or arming pilots, saying they should focus on flying the airplane.
House aides said Reps. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), William O. Lipinski (D-Ill.) and John L. Mica (R-Fla.), worked out the compromise and have enough votes to ensure passage in the House.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) plans to schedule a full committee vote on June 26, a spokesman said.
"The objective is to rein in this proposal and make it more manageable and responsible than I thought it was from the outset," said Oberstar, who was initially skeptical of the idea of giving pilots guns.
Oberstar said certain nuances of the bill -- what type of gun the pilot would carry, what kind of ammunition would be allowed and how the gun should be brought to the aircraft and stored -- still need to be studied.
In addition, he said, it's not clear whether the airlines, TSA or the pilots would be liable for damages if a pilot shoots and misses or wounds a passenger or crew member.
In the Senate, legislation authorizing far more pilots to carry guns has strong opponents, including Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The committee has not taken any action on the measure. Congressional aides said sponsors of the Senate bill may try to add their proposal as an amendment to legislation that would create a new Homeland Security Department.
Separately, TSA announced details of how it will begin hiring federal airport security screeners. Next week the agency will deploy several thousand contractors to 23 airports, most of them small to mid-size airports, to reconfigure security checkpoints.
By August, the TSA and its contractors, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., plan to hire tens of thousands of federal screeners and install hundreds of explosive detection machines at as many as 100 airports at once. TSA must install screeners by Nov. 19 and the machines by year's end.
c 2002 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7654-2002Jun18.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
By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, June 19, 2002; Page A10
Key Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the House yesterday agreed to a proposal that would allow 250 airline pilots to carry guns during a two-year experimental program.
The plan, which is scheduled for a vote today by the House aviation subcommittee, is a compromise that was reached in an attempt to address the concerns of some members of Congress that arming pilots might endanger passengers or other crew members.
Since the Sept. 11 hijackings, pilots have lobbied aggressively for the right to have guns in the cockpit. The compromise measure is a scaled-down version of a bill introduced last month that would have permitted the arming of far more pilots.
Under the new proposal, 250 pilots who have gone through a training program similar to one offered to federal air marshals would be allowed to carry guns. That number would be expanded to about 1,400 by the end of the two-year experiment.
During that time, the government would further study the risk of misfiring a gun aboard an airplane. After two years, the Transportation Security Administration could cancel or expand the program.
TSA chief John W. Magaw and the White House oppose the idea or arming pilots, saying they should focus on flying the airplane.
House aides said Reps. James L. Oberstar (D-Minn.), William O. Lipinski (D-Ill.) and John L. Mica (R-Fla.), worked out the compromise and have enough votes to ensure passage in the House.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) plans to schedule a full committee vote on June 26, a spokesman said.
"The objective is to rein in this proposal and make it more manageable and responsible than I thought it was from the outset," said Oberstar, who was initially skeptical of the idea of giving pilots guns.
Oberstar said certain nuances of the bill -- what type of gun the pilot would carry, what kind of ammunition would be allowed and how the gun should be brought to the aircraft and stored -- still need to be studied.
In addition, he said, it's not clear whether the airlines, TSA or the pilots would be liable for damages if a pilot shoots and misses or wounds a passenger or crew member.
In the Senate, legislation authorizing far more pilots to carry guns has strong opponents, including Sen. Ernest F. Hollings (D-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. The committee has not taken any action on the measure. Congressional aides said sponsors of the Senate bill may try to add their proposal as an amendment to legislation that would create a new Homeland Security Department.
Separately, TSA announced details of how it will begin hiring federal airport security screeners. Next week the agency will deploy several thousand contractors to 23 airports, most of them small to mid-size airports, to reconfigure security checkpoints.
By August, the TSA and its contractors, Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co., plan to hire tens of thousands of federal screeners and install hundreds of explosive detection machines at as many as 100 airports at once. TSA must install screeners by Nov. 19 and the machines by year's end.
c 2002 The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7654-2002Jun18.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
Comments
June 19, 2002 Posted: 2:27 PM EDT (1827 GMT)
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A House panel is poised to approve a bill on Wednesday that would allow commercial jetliner pilots to carry guns in the cockpit.
Republicans and Democrats on the House Transportation Aviation Subcommittee reached a compromise Tuesday night on the measure, which authorizes a two-year test program involving as many as 1,400 commercial airline pilots.
The subcommittee is expected to vote on the measure Wednesday afternoon.
The two-year period would begin only after 250 pilots had been deputized as federal flight deck officers allowed to carry firearms.
After two years, the Transportation Security Administration would be required to report to Congress. The TSA could then decide whether to continue the program.
As part of the compromise, flight attendants would get separate self-defense training.
"We have the votes to pass the House," said Gary Burns, a spokesman for the aviation subcommittee chairman, Rep. John Mica, R-Florida. Burns said the compromise is not only intended to get House Democrats on board, but also to try to overcome strong opposition from some Senate Democrats.
Under the House bill, pilots must undergo training and demonstrate proficiency with firearms comparable with federal air marshals. The TSA would be decide what type of guns and ammunition pilots would use and where the guns would be stored.
The Transportation Security Administration opposes guns in the cockpit. But it is studying whether to allow pilots to have stun guns or "Tasers." Currently, the TSA is the final arbiter of the issue.
The bill in the House and one in the Senate would take away TSA's authority to decide the issue and give it to Congress. http://www.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/06/19/cockpit.compromise/index.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
WASHINGTON, June 19, 2002
(AP)
"Of all the people who look at aviation security, in my opinion, there's no one that has more experience than a pilot."
Rep. John Mica, R-Florida
(CBS) A House subcommittee approved a bill Wednesday to let 2 percent of commercial pilots carry firearms in the cockpit for a two-year trial period, as a last line of defense against hijackers.
The bill, intended as a security measure to help stop any repeat of the Sept. 11 hijack attacks, passed the aviation subcommittee on a voice vote. It is expected to pass the full House Transportation Committee as soon as next week and move to the House floor, where backers claim overwhelming support.
But it marks a big step back from the original proposal, which would have allowed all pilots who wished to do so and were properly trained to carry firearms. To win Democratic support, the bill's Republican authors agreed to a two-year trial involving just 2 percent of U.S. pilots -- about 1,400.
The Bush administration has said it would not allow commercial pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit, but one of the authors of the House bill, Alaska Republican Don Young, said he expected President Bush would sign the compromise.
"This thing will pass overwhelmingly and they (the White House) will sign it," Young, Transportation Committee chairman, said after the vote.
The two-year test would begin once 250 pilots have signed up for the program.
"Of all the people who look at aviation security, in my opinion, there's no one that has more experience than a pilot," said the subcommittee chairman, Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. "Each day, they see and they know the weaknesses of the system and they are asking to arm and defend themselves. Congress has a responsibility to hear their plea in this matter."
Other proponents said armed pilots would be the last line of defense against a terrorist hijacking.
"If something were to happen, the last option is to shoot down an airplane," said Rep. John Thune, R-S.D. "We want to avoid that at all costs."
But Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., said 98 percent of the pilots wouldn't be armed during the two-year test.
"You know full well this will do nothing for virtually everybody," she said. "We are putting guns in planes but almost surely there will be no gun in your plane."
And Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, argued that pilots would make planes less safe.
"We are spending millions of dollars reinforcing the cockpit walls between cockpits and passenger cabins to prevent access to pilot controls," she said. "Pilots could be tempted to confront situations occurring in the passenger cabin and thereby breach the secure barrier."
Pilots unions have pushed hard for the right to carry firearms in the cockpit, and have been lobbying lawmakers to support legislation.
The executive director of the Coalition of Airline Pilots Associations, whose members include the unions representing American and Southwest pilots, recently urged the group to create its own political action committee to help the fight.
"We need access to those senators and congressmen who might be persuaded to support this legislation," executive director Mike Cronin said on the group's Web site. "Access is what PAC funds are all about."
c MMII, CBS Worldwide Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press and Reuters Limited contributed to this report. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/06/19/politics/main512763.shtml
"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
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House Panel OKs Bill to Arm Pilots
Wed Jun 19, 5:09 PM ET
By JONATHAN D. SALANT, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawmakers moved closer to a confrontation with the Bush administration over guns in airplane cockpits as a House panel endorsed legislation that could arm more than 1,000 pilots in the next two years.
The House Transportation Committee's aviation subcommittee vote Wednesday runs counter to the administration's decision last month not to allow the arming of pilots. Similar legislation also has been introduced in the Senate.
Bipartisan groups of lawmakers in both houses are trying to overturn the decision of Transportation Security Administration head John Magaw to keep guns out of the cockpit. They are supported by the pilots' unions and the powerful National Rifle Association, itself a Bush ally.
Though the bill has a long way to go before it reaches Bush's desk, the panel's overwhelming voice-vote support illustrates how popular the idea appears to be on Capitol Hill despite the administration's opposition.
"It's a difference in policy between the bureaucrats and the elected officials," said subcommittee chairman John Mica, R-Fla. "I think we're closer to the people."
Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the aviation subcommittee worked out a compromise that would set up a two-year test program. During that period, up to 1,400 pilots - 2 percent of the work force - could volunteer to undergo training and obtain permission to carry guns on board an airplane they are piloting. Priority would be given to pilots with military or law enforcement backgrounds. Flight attendants would get separate self-defense training.
After two years, the Transportation Security Administration would decide whether to end the program, continue it, or expand it.
"Nothing else can provide the deterrence or effectiveness of a weapon wielded by a highly trained individual," Mica said.
Airline pilots have been pushing for the right to carry guns, and Air Line Pilots Association ( news - web sites) President Duane Woerth praised the House panel's action Wednesday.
"We give this bipartisan compromise our full support, and we thank all the legislators involved for allowing this issue to go forward," Woerth said.
The NRA, meanwhile, is urging its members to call the administration and Congress.
"Just as we trust pilots to be able to fly a complicated aircraft, we can trust them to be able to use a firearm as a last line of defense against terrorist hijackers," the NRA said.
While legislation progresses in the House, the bill is opposed by the head of the Senate panel with jurisdiction over the issue, Commerce Committee Chairman Ernest Hollings, D-S.C.
But senators who support arming pilots are trying to bypass the committee and offer the bill as an amendment to other legislation, possibly the defense authorization bill now on the Senate floor or the Transportation Department spending bill.
"We feel we have great support within the Senate for this because no one wants to be seen as anti-terrorism and anti-guns," said Eric Bovim, a spokesman for Sen. Conrad Burns ( news, bio, voting record), R-Mont.
Ironically, the Bush administration's allies on this issue are Democrats who usually oppose the White House.
"I agree with Secretary Magaw because, fundamentally, if a hijacking occurs, pilots must concentrate on maintaining control and landing the plane as soon as possible and not on confronting terrorists with weapons," said Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson ( news, bio, voting record), D-Texas.
And Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton ( news, bio, voting record), D-D.C., said 98 percent of the pilots wouldn't be armed during the two-year test. "We are putting guns in planes but almost surely there will be no gun in your plane," she said.
The bill is to come before the full House Transportation Committee next Wednesday.
___
The bills are H.R. 4635 and S. 2554.
On the Net:
House Transportation Committee: http://www.house.gov/transportation
Air Line Pilots Association: http://www.alpa.org
NRA Institute for Legislative Action: http://www.nraila.org
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020619/ap_on_go_co/arming_pilots_7
"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
It is very unlikely that terrorists will attempt to hijack a commercial passenger airliner again; arming pilots really isn't worth discussing.
Lawmakers SHOULD be talking about arming cargo plane pilots and truck drivers--these are the "easy hijack targets" suicide terrorists will be looking at next.