-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! Leading Pilots Union Wants Guns in Cockpit By John Crawley WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Saying air crews face a new kind of threat, the president of the largest U.S. pilots union said on Tuesday he wants to arm them as a last line of defense against hijackers. Duane Woerth, chief of the Air Line Pilots Association (news - web sites), will ask Congress later in the day at a House of Representatives hearing to support the plan two weeks after hijackers seized four airliners and used three of them to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (news - web sites). ``Under these circumstances we think we can increase aviation security in a real way and that's why we are going to propose it today,'' Woerth told ABC's ``Good Morning America.'' Woerth, a 747-series captain for Northwest Airlines, proposed that specially screened, trained pilots would be the only ones allowed to carry weapons and that the program would be tightly controlled. The union, which represents pilots at most major U.S. carriers, envisions a central oversight role for federal law enforcement, which would issue the weapons. He said carrying a weapon would be voluntary and that the captain on board would hold the ultimate authority. The pilots union and other security experts have said that the suicidal suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks on U.S. financial and military landmarks rewrote rules for how air crews should respond to hijackings. ``Everything has changed and this is a new, real threat that needs a real solution in real time,'' Woerth said. Federal Aviation Administration (news - web sites) Administrator Jane Garvey told a news conference in New York on Monday that all security options remained on the table. U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news - bio - voting record), a Connecticut Democrat who will hold another hearing on airline security on Tuesday, said arming pilots might help law enforcement augment other efforts to man domestic flights with armed personnel. He said on CBS's ``The Early Show'' that the government needs to help create conditions for aircraft security and make ''passengers feel secure.'' Currently, the FAA is building up its air marshals program, which uses armed, plainclothes guards aboard commercial air service. Woerth conceded there was a risk that future hijackers could seize weapons from the cockpit but said the benefits of having a gun outweighed that risk. The extraordinary proposal came as lawmakers and the Bush administration accelerated efforts to draft plans for expanding airport and airline security. The FAA has ordered new security steps in recent days, including an end to curb-side check-in and a ban on knives and other cutting instruments carried onboard. The agency also has renewed efforts to confirm the identities of airline, airport and contract workers with access to aircraft and sensitive areas of the airport for Senate and House lawmakers continued to craft bipartisan legislation to boost security after approving a $15 billion industry bailout last week. While a range of security proposals are being considered, congressional aides and lawmakers have said the central thrust of final legislation would be to restore public confidence in the safety of air travel. ON CAPITOL HILL Bill would ensure pilots' right to bear arms 'We don't need more intrusive government; we need freedom' ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- By Jon Dougherty © 2001 WorldNetDaily.com In the wake of last week's hijackings and terrorist attacks in New York City and at the Pentagon, Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, has introduced a bill that would permanently allow commercial airline pilots to be armed. The bill, H.R. 2896, entitled, "The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001," was introduced Sept. 14, just three days after terrorists slammed three fuel-laden airliners into both of the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. A fourth hijacked airliner, believed headed to Washington, D.C., crashed 80 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Authorities have said there is evidence to believe that some of the passengers overpowered hijackers and forced the plane down. The bill states, "Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no department or agency of the federal government shall prohibit any pilot, copilot, or navigator of an aircraft, or any law enforcement personnel specifically detailed for the protection of that aircraft, from carrying a firearm." It has no cosponsors. Currently, Federal Aviation Administration regulations permit pilots to be armed, provided they are properly authorized. Federal Aviation Regulation 108.11 allows armed individuals on aircraft "if the person having the weapon is authorized to have the weapon by the (airline) and the Administrator [of the FAA] and has successfully completed a course of training in the use of firearms acceptable to the Administrator." That rule, however, is slated to change in November, according to FAA officials. "The new rule will not include authorization (to carry firearms) and crew members will no longer be allowed to carry arms," FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto told CNSNews.com Thursday. Takemoto said the rule was being changed because of the recent terrorist hijackings and attacks. A noted gun rights organization, Virginia-based Gun Owners of America, has picked up Paul's cause and is pushing for approval of his bill. "It would be a mistake to respond to last week's terrorist attacks by punishing the American people with more infringements on their liberties," Paul said last week. "We don't need more intrusive government. We need freedom." "Freedom saves lives," he continued, "and my bill is a modest step towards letting pilots defend their lives and the lives of their passengers – not to mention the lives of thousands of innocent people who may be working in office buildings." The bill would overrule the strict FAA regulations scheduled to go into effect in November. "It seems clear that billions of dollars for metal detectors and ID checks have proven ineffective in stopping terrorism," said Larry Pratt, executive director of GOA. "Villains always manage to get weapons and always seem to get them through security checkpoints. Despite this obvious fact, many voices are now calling for Americans to give up more of their freedoms. What we really need is to instigate procedures that will serve as a deterrent to terrorists," he said. "We grieve for the families of these victims, and hope Congress will implement policies that will save lives in the future," he added. GOA spokesman Eric Pratt told WorldNetDaily that the legislation is dormant at the moment. "Nothing is moving forward right now" in wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, he said. But, he added, "We're working with some folks in the Senate as well," to win support for Paul's bill. The Violence Policy Center and the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence failed to return phone calls seeking comment on Paul's proposal. "My approach to this is to allow an airline to take care of their property just like we allow our chemical plants and our refineries to protect their property," Paul told CNSNews.com. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance�not soap-boxing�please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'�with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds�is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. 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