[wagglebee]

What is the problem with arming pilots? On the other hand if they keep our planes safe who cares how badly they stand out.

[b4its2late]

What is the problem with arming pilots? On the other hand if they keep our planes safe who cares how badly they stand out.

That's what I think too. If there is a cop in my bank, is it more or less likely to be robbed? I say less.

[Drango]

I say it's the buzzcuts.

[EGPWS]

Sean Connery could teach them a thing or two.

After all, if one is on a flight, say, to Honolulu, who would wear a suit coat?

[antaresequity]

Obviously the answer is locking seat belts and a catheter for each passenger...

Sit them down, lock them up, and plug them in.

YOU ARE NOT FREE TO MOVE ABOUT THE CABIN

[snopercod]

What is the problem with arming pilots?

Great idea, but unfortunately, President Bush opposes the idea, so it ain't gonna' happen, regardless of what the law allows.

[clintonh8r]

Sounds like the way I dress when I fly. I hope nobody mistakes me an air marshal. Unless there are some ladies with a "thing" for air marshals.

[TXBubba]

This actually just answered a question for me. Last week while going through security at the airport a group of "business men and women" walked right past my family and up to the x-ray machine. Frankly I was mithed and wondering what was so special that these folks got to "cut" in line with their carry ons etc. Now I have my answer...they must have been air marshals. It all fits together now. Thanks for the post.

[sharktrager]

How log can they keep the planes safe if they stand out? Unless there is one on each flight, terrorists will just wait until they are on a plane without a marshal.

Also, as was pointed out by another poster, the terrorists would know who to neutralize, and would simply make that the first thing they do. The, in addition to whatever makeshift weapons they managed to smuggle aboard, they would also have a gun.

The ideal situation is a mix of unformed officers and undercover marshals. The uniformed guys remind us that there are marshals, and the undercover guys have us wondering if there is one on our flight.

Now, the security thing is actually pretty easy to get past. If the marshals first board a commuter plane at a small airport, they won'\'t have to pass through screening at any of the larger airports with the flights that truly need protection.

[arthurus]

By standing out they definitely kêp the plane they are on safe. Terrorists are not going to take on extra trouble if they want to hijack a plane.

[Mulder]

Gee, back when this was a Free country, it wasn't a big deal to carry a gun on a plane.

No TSA, no metal detectors, no JBT's patrolling the airports, no strip searches, no secret "no fly" lists.

And no terrorist attacks.

[MarkL]

On the other hand if they keep our planes safe who cares how badly they stand out.

I had the same conversation with a police officer about concealed carry... He told me that MO currently allows open carry of a handgun, and that should be enough. My response was that the fact that there are a few "good guys" carrying weapons among the unarmed population would be reason for the bad guys to worry, and possibly move on to easier hunting grounds. More importantly, what if there's a couple of bad guys who want to get my gun. Just as the Air Marshall said, if they spot you, you are at a disadvantage.

Mark

[bondjamesbond]

The "Secret Service Look" is as identifiable as any uniform. However, it is not illegal for a person to buy a dark suit, sunglasses, an ear-piece and stuff a salami under his suit jacket, and imitate the "Secret Service Look" quite successfully. IMHO, this is an inherent weakness in our Secret Service protection schemes. The Secret Service protection details should be uniformed, since they stand out like sore thumbs anyway. That way it could be made illegal to impersonate a Secret Service Agent by copying the uniform.

An additional benefit is that a certain Junior Senator would not be able to hire thugs, have them masquerade as Secret Service Agents, and have them beat people up on parade routes and the like. Just as a for-instance...

[KangarooJacqui]

What is the problem with arming pilots?

It's the bleeding-heart liberal types who complain that a bullet could compomise the aircraft. Piffle. Boeing 747s have landed with no further loss of life after having a quarter of the side ripped out of the plane by bombs - a well-designed aircraft has no structural integrity problems with a couple of bullet holes in the side, as a worst-case scenario with one of the air marshals or even a pilot having to use a firearm.

We now know what the alternative is, after all.

[Kenton]