Posted on 12/08/2004 2:40:01 PM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Passengers already are barred from smoking on commercial flights. Now they won't be allowed to bring their butane lighters on board either.
As part of the intelligence reform bill passed Wednesday, Congress added the lighters to the long list of banned items, including scissors, pen knives and box cutters.
Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Byron Dorgan of North Dakota had pushed for the change for more than a year after learning the Transportation Security Administration allowed them on planes.
"When I found out that they had explicitly, in their rule, said you could take two butane lighters and four books of matches on board, I thought, 'What have they been drinking?'" Dorgan said. Matches still are allowed.
Dorgan cited FBI reports that would-be "shoe-bomber" Richard Reid would have been able to ignite his explosive and blow up a trans-Atlantic jetliner three years ago if he'd brought a butane lighter with him.
Wyden and Dorgan were so persistent in their campaign against the incendiary devices that Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., joked earlier this year that he never thought butane lighters would get so much attention.
"This is probably not the biggest thing in the world," Dorgan said. "But it's one of those areas where a big government agency couldn't develop a little bit of common sense about something so obvious."
The ban takes effect 60 days after President Bush signs the intelligence reform bill into law.
Okay, you really have no problems with allowing guns on airplanes?
Uh, not any more it doesn't. Looks like the mods took care of it.
I know it doesn't ensure complete safety, but it does minimize risk.
Steel wool mixed with dryer lint touched with a 9 volt works great.
This is ridiculous.
As far as endangering someone on the plane. TSA has never once caught on that the key chain I have is probably the sharpest knife I own. I don't intentionally take a knife on board, but I usually don't even think about the keychain being a knife.
If you don't smoke, you will never understand.
I do understand that when I get off of a plane after an uncomfortable flight, I want a cigarette. Personally, I think this rule will just cause unstable cigarette smokers to become more crabby. And that can be a bad thing....
What happens when the terrorist brings a decent match on board?
I was thinking a 9 volt battery and some of that nichrome ignition wire like they use for model rockets. It gets hot fast, long enough to light a smoke.
I worn a pistol plenty of times on small aircraft.
Oh come on. You all couldn't get any crabbier, or touchier! LOL : )
And thank God you're not the kind of guy that would use it for ill purposes. Not everyone out there is as sane and sensible as you.
How many more thousands upon thousands of illegal scumbag aliens will have broken into our nation in the same time period, Presidente Gorge? How many of them will be carrying things much, much more deadly than a freakin' lighter...like weapons, drugs, bombs, tuberculosis, etc?
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
Well, in an Cessna 182, there aren't exactly a great deal of people to get in a fight with.
That's right. It's obvious you aren't addicted to the darned things.
Don't take away my cigarettes, power, computer or my ability to shower and everything will be just fine. ;-)
"what possible need could you have for one during the flight?"
For those smokers who like to enjoy a stogie between those long cattle type flights from NY to DFW to LAX. I guess the match industry lobbied for this....sarcasm.
Why don't they try banning suspicious foreginers? Or should I just get my thoughts back in the box?
Now imagine me in a trans-Atlantic flight with a kid screaming and hitting the back of my seat all the way. If you're the parent of that kid, do you REALLY want me carrying my Glock? LOL
"...Could you possibly stop inflicting your bizzare internal fantasies on the rest of us?..."
I've read posts by Bluegrass Conservative on a few other threads and he/she enjoys being contrarian ad nauseam, regardless of the topic. If you really want to question his/her sincerity to conservative causes, check out the thread about National ID cards and you'll gain additional insights. Don't let him/her get under your skin.
~ Blue Jays ~
Maybe so they could smoke when they arrived at their destination!!! Why else?
Have you no sense of adventure?
Get a patch! : )
I'm just telling you, you will never understand.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.