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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: greenspirit who wrote (274529)	7/13/2002 4:13:14 PM
From: Thomas A Watson	Respond to of 769670

Well Mike, I wonder who in the vacant liberal mind is the most qualified to understand the dangers of using a gun on an airplane and would thus be able to make the most informed judgement as to the safest when and where, if necessary. I am always amused when talking head sources ask the opinion of John Q Ignorant, questions concerning safety.

To: greenspirit who wrote (274529)	7/13/2002 8:05:56 PM
From: Steve Dietrich	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

Except this article is supporting the Bush position of not arming pilots. And if you'd read the article you'd see it was pretty balanced: Here's some of it: On Wednesday, despite opposition from the Bush administration, the House voted 311 to 113 to pass a bill backed by the Air Line Pilots Association that would allow commercial pilots to be deputized as federal flight deck officers and carry guns during flights. The bill specified that guns were to be used only in the cockpit. In the Senate, proponents of the measure are expected to attach a version of it to legislation to create a Department of Homeland Security, and its chances are improving. Yet the idea that those responsible for flying an airplane might also take on crucial security duties struck some travelers today as an extreme response, perhaps foolhardy. In nearly four dozen interviews in seven major airports, opponents of the idea outnumbered supporters by a ratio of roughly 3 to 2, and expressed deep concern about the consequences of using a gun on an airplane. People who favored the plan said the presence of an armed pilot provided an added layer of safety and confidence. Caroline St. Antoine, a student from Atlanta waiting for a flight at La Guardia Airport in New York, liked the idea, noting that a pilot was ultimately responsible for the safety of a jet's passengers. "Everyone else's life is already at stake," she reasoned. A program to arm pilots "is just offering more protection for passengers." Elise Pryor, 68, of Phoenix, who was on her way to Philadelphia, said the prospect of on-board firearms "wouldn't bother me at all." "I would feel more secure if they took a gun into the cockpit," Ms. Pryor said. "At my age it just wouldn't bother me." Steve