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Senators Defy Bush Administration, Introduce Bill Allowing Guns in Cockpit
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Despite Bush Administration’s refusal, the U.S. Senate introduces a resolution allowing pilots to be armed in the cockpit.
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WASHINGTON,
May 24 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – Defying earlier
assertions by Undersecretary for Transportation John Magaw that he
would not allow pilots to carry guns, the U.S. Senate - standing
side-by-side with U.S. airline pilots - introduced legislation
Thursday, May 23, that would allow them to be armed while on board a
flight.
"The
logic of having an arm of some appropriate kind ... in the hands of a
pilot or copilot in command absolutely makes sense," said Senator
Frank Murkowski.
"We're
going to change the law," he promised.
On
Tuesday, May 21, Magaw said he would not authorize pilots to carry
guns as requested by airline pilots following the hijackings of
September 11, which killed some 3,000 people.
"As
we continue to deal with the realities of living in America after the
tragic events of last September 11, we must take every precaution to
ensure the safety of our citizens," responded Senator Strom
Thurmond.
"This
legislation will establish additional lines of defense for the
aircraft cabin and cockpit against terrorism."
Under
a program designed after a rash of hijackings in the 1960s and 1970s
and administered by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)and the airlines, pilots were
allowed to be armed. That rule lapsed last summer.
Today,
the FAA no longer has the authority to administer such a program,
Congress having handed that authority to the Transportation Security
Administration in November.
But
pilots, such as Captain Gary Boettcher of American Airlines who
represents the five major pilot unions in the United States, are
adamant that firearms for pilots are essential as a last line of
defense against potential hijackers.
"We
are not willing to stand idly by and compromise the safety and
security of our crew members, passengers or aircraft at the expense of
hollow excuses or pressures exerted behind the scenes by airline
management," Boettcher told reporters.
Transportation
Secretary Norman Mineta and Magaw's objections "are less than
responsible and leave our aviation security system defenseless," he
said.
Similar
legislation already introduced in the House of Representatives, was
due to be voted out of committee in mid-June.
Congress
passed legislation last November, the Aviation and Transportation
Security Act, permitting pilots to carry handguns at the discretion of
the U.S. administration and the airlines. But the plan to arm pilots
was never enacted.
The
agency has not yet decided on “nonlethal” weapons, including stun
guns, which “stun” the muscles. United Airlines is training its
pilots to use Tasers, electric stun guns that disrupt control of the
muscles, CNN reported.
To
date, the administration of President George W. Bush has preferred to
boost airline security through improving safety checks and having
armed air marshals on board commercial flights.
Arguing
that the safety of their passengers was at stake, pilots had said that
only lethal force could counter a deadly threat.
"I
believe it is essential that the pilots remain in control of the
cockpit at all times," Marc Flagg - a business pilot whose
parents died aboard American Airlines Flight 77, which plowed into the
Pentagon on September 11 - told lawmakers earlier this month.
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