[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.

[Zon]

I notice that you neglect to mention that because of 9/11 many more law-abiding air travelers would be carrying guns. It's not nice to insult the readers' intelligence.

[Frohickey]

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.

I beg to differ.

Civilians with valid CCW permits and peace-officers (not LEOs) should be allowed. Of course, this is after the permits have been looked at by airline security. The pilot will then know how many armed passengers he/she has, and so will the air marshall that might be on the flight. If a terrorist happen to be one of the armed CCW permittees, then the state authorities already have a head-start with the investigation, and might be able to alert the pilot while enroute.

Not part of the topic, but how about doing away with the cockpit doors, and have a permanent wall separating the pilots from the passengers. The pilots can enter the plane through the windshields, eat MREs and use a bucket. A potential hijacker would have to cut through, or come in from the outside. ;)

[Virginia-American]

I'd *require* the passengers over 18 to be armed. Simply make the passengers part of the militia, under the command of the pilot and crew.