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House Passes Bill Permitting Pilots to Carry Firearms July 11, 2002 By MATTHEW L. WALD WASHINGTON, July 10 - The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly today to let airline pilots carry guns in their cockpits, a move that the new Transportation Security Administration said six weeks ago it would not allow. The idea of arming pilots faces opposition in the Senate, but a proposal similar to the House bill gained support there today, raising the possibility Congress will try to overrule the Bush administration's decision. The House legislation, approved 310 to 113, provides that pilots are to be trained by the new security agency and deputized as federal flight deck officers, then allowed to carry guns on domestic and international flights. The bill specified that guns were to be used only in the cockpit, not taken into the passenger cabin. According to terms of the bill, the government would supply the guns but under certain circumstances would let pilots buy their own from a list of approved types. Details of where the guns would be stored between flights, and guidelines about their legal use, were left to the security agency to determine. Opponents of the measure are already lobbying the Senate. A background paper circulating there prepared by the Violence Policy Center, a Washington-based gun control group, asserts that 21 percent of police officers killed with a handgun were shot with their own service weapons. According to the center, "trained law enforcment officials have only an 18 to 22 percent hit ratio in armed confrontations." When the Air Line Pilots Association proposed the idea two weeks after the Sept. 11 hijackings, the response among elected officials was mixed. President Bush said that "there may be better ways" to provide security for air travelers. Initially, Congress left the decision to the Transportation Security Administration it created last winter to take over airport security. But when John Magaw, head of the agency, said in May that he would not allow pilots to be armed - opting instead to rely on stronger cockpit doors, air marshals and better screening of passengers - many members of Congress said they were outraged. "Do you really think that 9/11 would have happened if our pilots had been armed, as they should have been armed?" Don Young, the Alaska Republican who is the chairman of the House Transportation Committee, asked in debate today. A spokesman for the Department of Transportation said today that "Our position remains unchanged," and that Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and Mr. Magaw were strongly opposed to arming pilots. A White House spokeswoman, Claire Buchan, said after the vote that the administration had improved security by having the federal government assume supervision of the screeners who search passengers, adding air marshals and strengthening cockpit doors, among other steps. "We're continuing to improve every day," Ms. Buchan said. "With regard to the proposals to arm pilots, security experts and transportation experts have made clear that they view other methods as being more effective." Aviation experts have said guns would be a distraction to professionals whose attention ought to be devoted to flying the airplane. Though he changed his position, Duane Woerth, president of the pilots association, told a Senate committee just after the Sept. 11 attack that pilots could not be "Sky King and Wyatt Earp at the same time." Others raised questions about the effect stray bullets might have on cockpit control panels. Pilots, though, have loudly supported the bill, noting that a few were allowed to carry guns back when the worry was hijackings to Cuba. House staff members said that about half of the roughly 70,000 airline pilots were military veterans, experience that proponents said supported the measure. Representative John L. Mica, Republican of Florida and chairman of the House aviation subcommittee, noted recently that "in bygone years, every plane carrying the U.S. mail carried a pistol for the pilot to use against would-be robbers." Today, he showed a photograph of a gun marked "United Airlines," which he said the airline issued to a pilot long ago. Representative James L. Oberstar of Minnesota, the ranking Democrat on the committee, said he had first sided with the administration, but changed his mind because of the current federal policy that authorizes Air National Guard pilots to shoot down hijacked planes. If pilots were armed and able to subdue hijackers, he said, the Guard might not have to take such action. Republican and Democratic leaders initially agreed to a two-year test program, in which up to 2 percent of airline pilots, or about 1,400 of them, could undergo the training, be deputized and authorized to carry guns. But today, an amendment offered by Representative Peter A. DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon, opened the program to any pilot who could pass the training. It also eliminated the two-year limit, making the program permanent. The amendment carried by a bipartisan vote of 250 to 175. After that, Mr. Oberstar, a strong proponent of the 2 percent limit, pleaded with members not to destroy the compromise. But in a revote, the amendment passed by an even larger margin, 251 to 172. One reason for the 2 percent limit was the program's expense. Mr. Oberstar said it would cost $8,000 a year for each pilot trained; if all of them sought guns, it would cost more than $500 million a year. Two Republican House members who changed position since last September were Representatives Dick Armey, the majority leader, and Tom DeLay, the majority whip. Mr. Armey said then that stun guns were better. Mr. DeLay said, "I don't want any cowboy pilots going back to fight hijackers and leaving the plane unattended." Both men voted today to arm pilots. Representative Richard A. Gephardt of Missouri, the minority leader, voted against the bill. Sentiment for arming pilots is building in the Senate. Four senators have introduced a bill to let any pilot who can pass a qualifying course carry a gun if he or she wants to. The chairman of the Commerce Committee, Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina, has blocked the matter from coming to a vote. As a result, sponsors are trying to attach the proposal as an amendment to another bill, possibly the Homeland Security Department plan or a security appropriations bill. Arming pilots was popular first with conservatives, but today Senator Barbara Boxer of California, a liberal Democrat, endorsed the idea as well. Referring to Robert C. Smith, the New Hampshire Republican who is one of the more conservative senators and a sponsor of the legislation, Ms. Boxer said, "I think this is the first time I have ever stood with Senator Smith on an issue that has involved guns." In House debate today, few lawmakers spoke against the bill. Representative Vernon J. Ehlers, Republican of Michigan, was one, saying the bill cut the airlines out of the process. "I'm not aware of any instance where the federal government has told an employer, `you have to let your employees carry a gun to work if they want to,' " he said. In a concession to the airlines, the bill would relieve them of liability for the use of a gun in the cockpit, though not in the cabin. An armed pilot who mistakenly shot a passenger would be treated as a federal employee for purposes of liability. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/11/politics/11PILO.html?ex=1027390416&ei=1&en=fb90de199bb47487 HOW TO ADVERTISE --------------------------------- For information on advertising in e-mail newsletters or other creative advertising opportunities with The New York Times on the Web, please contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] or visit our online media kit at http://www.nytimes.com/adinfo For general information about NYTimes.com, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Copyright 2002 The New York Times Company <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! 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