[white trash redneck]

Now here's an interesting thought!

[Clemenza]

I would have no problem with this...

[widowithfoursons]

Even if passengers can't carry weapons, there would be no reason for the pilots to throw out their guns since the alternative is for our boys to blow the plane out of the sky. So everyone in the cabin could be killed, but the pilots would be safe to land the plane. How comforting.

[1bigdictator]

Love the 2nd ammendment but how long would it be before a gun-toting passenger got irritated at the yahoo that put his seat back to far spilling coke on the gun-packing passenger... think air rage, similar to road rage. The guns would inevitably get misused. The liberal media would have a field day upon the first instance.

[Ajnin]

The priority of the Air Marshall is the plane. The terrorists can slit the throat of every passenger on the plane because that's not the priority. It's the protection of the cockpit and the pilots. The Air Marshall(s) would shoot anybody approaching the cockpit. The tangos would have to be extraordinarily bad ass to detect the Marshall, not get shot and overcome being mauled by the other 200 passengers.

[NativeNewYorker]

This blog is on my daily bookmark hit-list.

Truly a freeper must-read.

BTTT

[drjimmy]

The anti-gun bien pensants of the world wet their pants at the thought of flying airplanes containing hundreds of armed civilians.
Here is where the fantasy of the suggestion comes through. There ain't going to be hundreds of armed civilians on any flights just because civilians are allowed to carry weapons on flights. How many of the people on the hijacked 9-11 flights would have been armed even if they had been allowed? If a dozen armed terrorists all get on the same flight, the odds are pretty good that they will outnumber the armed non-terrorists. The world is a far different place than it was pre-1971, so it's ridiculous to use that as some kind of benchmark.

[Jerrybob]

http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3bacbcdc13c4.htm

Great cartoon here.

[Ramius]

Bats. Issue every passenger a bat.

[Kermit]

The government pukes, 'RAT and pubbie, Mineta, Ashcroft and Bush have one goal, power. They oppose anything that reduces the power of government. They all want the flying public dependent of government security, even though it is a proven failure.

Government is NOT serious about airline safety. It is no better today than it was on the morning of 9/11.

The only difference today are the attitudes of the passengers. Passengers prevented the use of Flight 93 to take out the White House. Passengers prevented "shoebomber" Richard Reid from bringing down that flight. Now passengers are unarmed. Someone had the idea of allowing CCW holders to get further training and have an ATQ (Air Travel Qualified) extension on their license.

Mineta and Bush are TODAY still not serious about airline passenger safety. They won't even take the step of arming pilot. The Air Passenger Militia obviously is needed and is the only pragmatic way to stop hijackings.

[AAABEST]

I am a HUGE 2a supporterss. I run a 2a website. I'm also all for arming pilots and if not sky marshalls, some other "trusted" people - like say a corps of screened folks who get a discount on their planefare or something. I don't know I'm just throwing stuff out.

Everyone however has a line and this author has found mine. A plane full of drinking, air psychosis prone people with guns is my line.

[4CJ]

The anti-gun bien pensants of the world wet their pants at the thought of flying airplanes containing hundreds of armed civilians. They would have you believe that this would be a sure recipe for carnage on every flight, an epidemic of berserk yahoos blowing bullet holes through innocent bystanders and the cabin walls. When you ask why this didn't happen before 1971 when there were no firearms restrictions on airplanes, they evade the question.

They still do.

[MissTargets]

bang

[eFudd]

I still think the safest and best option is to give every passenger a fully charged tazer as they come aboard. I do not think very many people are up to facing down 200+ armed passengers.

[Destructor]

Too Logical. It'll NEVER happen! Will you please stop making sense!!

[chuknospam]

Air Marshal Shooting Qualification Test
Sorry, I haven't got the knack of getting tabbed columns to work out.

All of the shot stages below are performed at seven yards.
Individual Stage:: Start Position:: Time Allowed:: Total Rounds

1 Round (2X):: From concealed holster:: 1.65 sec (3.30 total):: 2

Double Tap (2X):: Low Ready:: 1.35 sec (2.70 total:: 4

Rhythm::; shoot 6 rounds at 1 target;
no more than 0.6 second
between any shot.
Low Ready:: 3.00 sec:: 6

1 Shot, speed
reload, 1 shot (2X):: Low Ready:: 3.25 sec (6.50 total):: 4

One Round each
at two targets three
yards apart (2X):: Low Ready:: 1.65 sec (3.30 total):: 4

180° pivot. One
round at each of
3 targets (2X).
Turn left, then
right.:: From concealed holster:: 3.50 sec (7.00 total):: 6

1 Round; to
slide lock; drop
to one knee;
reload; fire
1 round. (2X):: Low Ready:: 4.00 sec (8.00 total):: 4

Qualification details:

1. Time: Cannot exceed total time for each drill. Example: Drill #1 - 1st time 1.70 seconds, 2nd time 1.55 seconds; Total = 3.25 seconds =Go.
Must achieve a "GO" on each drill stage.

2. Accuracy: Target is FBI "QIT" (bottle). Total rounds fired is 30.
Point value inside bottle = 5. Point value touching line or outside bottle= 2. Maximum possible score = 150. Minimum qualifying score = 135.

3. All stages are shot "cold"-- with no warm-up or practice. Come to the range, walk to the targets and begin the stages.
All stages must equal "GO" to qualify. If you don't qualify, you don't fly!