The last line of the defense is the cockpit and its defenders are the pilots. Why are they not armed? How are we safer that they are not? Why are we not taking this simple precaution?
Why is President Bush opposing the arming of pilots. We are getting a lot of interesting alternatives, but why not the most obvious, simplest and cost effective solution. We are willing to consider shooting down hijacked commercial airliners, but pilots with handguns, out of the question. Where are all the 2nd Amendment folks on this issue? Or does President Bush get a pass on the 2ND Amendment?
No... The last line of the defense is the cockpit and its defenders are the passengers. Having a terrorist attempt to breach the door to the cockpit of a plane that I am on will not be a spectator sport. I will want to join the game since I have such a stake in the outcome.
Search4Truth also asked: "Where are all the 2nd Amendment folks on this issue?"
Speaking for myself, I am waiting to see if anyone can come up with a rational reason to keep pilots disarmed which will convince people to once again fly on airplanes. I don't think it can be done. The economics of bankruptcy for the airlines may dictate the outcome.
The truth is that people trusted the government to set standards that would make them safe. Many felt safe up until recently. Now they should justifiably feel outrage that pilots have been disarmed. They should look to the Israeli model of flight security and wonder why we must suffer.