Posted on 09/11/2001 8:16:26 PM PDT by RightOnline
In light of today's horrific events, wherein a group of highly-trained, highly-motivated terrorists apparently armed with knives and/or box cutters hijacked no fewer than four civilian airliners, I'd like to offer a proposal for your consideration.
Is it time, in light of the state of our world today, for a new category of "concealed carry" licensing? Let's call it, for lack of better phraseology for the time being, CCW-ATQ (ATQ = "Air Travel Qualified").
What I envision is a category of armed citizens who are a subset of those with "CCW" licenses. They would undergo much additional training, akin to the training given to the "Air Marshals" whom we've all read about. They would undergo background checks, etc., much like individuals seeking higher security clearances.
Once certified, a citizen possessing a CCW-ATQ license would be approved to carry a weapon aboard a civilian airliner. The aircraft crew would be notified whether or not they had any CCW-ATQ certified passengers, but would NOT be given names or seating assignments (terrorists would know if such was provided to aircrews, thereby making such passengers easy targets..........nullifying much of their effectiveness).
I don't offer this suggestion lightly or flippantly, but as a proposal for protection of air travellers in American airspace. I cannot help but think that if such was allowed today, the hijackings just might not have been so successful.
An excellent "first step", no doubt.
For reasons I stated to another FReeper above, still not enough, IMHO.
I know you posted this at least semi-tongue-in-cheek.........but you've swerved into a very important point.
This is absolutely a key point that would be brought up against such a concept.
This is why such careful screening processes would have to be put in place. I mean............getting my proposed CCW-ATQ would be a bitch; you'd go through some work to get it. You'd also have to go through a clearance process. I used to have a Top Secret clearance, and I'm thinking something along those lines (well, maybe not quite that deep.........but you get the idea).
In addition, as an aside..........would a rogue "CCW-ATQ'er" even consider an "air rage"-style incident, since he/she would know that there is a fair likelihood that he/she has other CCW-ATQ'ers aboard ready to send him/her to the permanent horizontal position? "Deterrence" can work several ways, IOW.
The best way to get others to see your way of thinking is to anticipate objections, so I thank you for bringing it up.
Time to bring back Johnny Carson.
After the Cooper highjack, Carson joked in his monolog that the way to stop highjacking, was to give everybody a gun.
end
Who want to push the issue to actual completion?
All commercial pilots should be armed and there should be no access to the cockpit from the passenger compartment.
However, I remember a famous quote from Archie Bunker that went something like" They should pass out guns at the beginning of the flight so that everyone is armed".
It doesn't sound so stupid now.
Well Sara Brady, how safe were the people on those gun free planes?
Putting "incognito" armed marshalls on high-risk flights is another possibility. However, it's expensive, there would probably not be more than one or two of them on any given flight, and it's quite possible that they wouldn't be on the actualy flight being hijacked. In short, it's a "feel good" solution for benefit of public window-dressing, but of little practical value.
"Flight-qualified" CCW sounds like the best solution to me. If the airlines want to encourage pilots and flight attendents to also qualify to carry aboard airlines, so much the better.
Good question. I don't say that to sound lazy; I just don't know exactly how such a thing would be pushed through. I assume it would require Federal legislation. Would the NRA / GOA and their lobbyists be the most qualified to push such a concept through in Washington?
One thing I do know: NOW would be the time, while this is still fresh in the minds of Americans, to push such an idea..........not a year from now.
Years ago someone suggested that this could also be done in conjunction with a ventilation system that floods the passenger cabin with some kind of non-lethal gas to incapacitate all passengers in the event there is a problem.
I suggested the same alternative earlier today on another post (pasted below) except for the non-lethal gas option. That sounds like a fantastic idea considering the madness we now have to deal with.
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From now on, airline cockpit compartments must be armored, cockpit crews must be armed, the cockpits must locked before take-off and must not be opened under ANY circumstances even if every single passanger is threatened with death. In case of a bomb threat, the pilots must fly to the nearest body of water or unpopulated area and circle since, if you are going to die anyway, it is much nobler to die protecting others on the ground. As the Israelis do, plain-clothed, armed security must be aboard every flight to shoot it out with the bad guys in the passanger compartment.
And, as Politically Incorrect as it is (or was until this morning), there is a value in racial profiling. If you look Middle Eastern, you must expect that special attention will be given to you by security.
Sword
This could be done on a voluntary basis by the airlines. So, if you wanna save the $8 and fly somewhere else you can. Also, if there is concern about the security officer being the first target, it's not neccesary for them to be in uniform. Could be "stealth" mode. I'd feel better havin' trained pros who would be held accountable for their actions. I realize most civilians who would be licensed under such a program would be good guys/gals, but one slip-up and revocation of all licenses.
Why don't we divide all the airplanes into individual companies and let each board of directors decide how to protect their airplanes?
Some airlines might invest in better security for the flight crew.
Some might hire sky-marshals to protect from hijacking.
Still others might allow every passenger to keep and bear arms. Some specific flights might be designated as "no weapons". You know... Like those yard signs which say "We have no firearms! Please don't hurt us."
I see no necessity to have a collectivist solution to this problem. Airlines which offer no protection, such as those whose planes were hijacked today, would soon find their business declining and their insurance rates climbing.
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