<No guns for pilots. I hope they go on strike.

Both Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta and Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge previously indicated their opposition to arming pilots.

Ridge at least ought to know better.

"Pilots need to concentrate on flying the plane," Magaw said later in the hearing. Specially trained air marshals should be the only armed officers on board, he added.



"These marshals are trained not only in the use of weapons but all the things that build up to that," Magaw said. "They have to practice all of these things in a tight aircraft. They have special firearms training. We don't want them shooting the firearm with the potential of bringing that airplane down."



This would be swell if we HAD thousands of "trained air marshalls." Don't see them just yet. We HAVE pilots, a vast majority of which have a military background and probably know which end of a gun is which. Why doesn't the pilots' input on this mean anything to anyone?

Magaw said the pilots could use in-flight maneuvers to keep the hijackers off guard and suggested installing cameras in the cabin so pilots can see the results of any actions they take.

God forbid we give them guns, so a passenger might get hurt. But it's apparently okay to bang the passengers around in the plane like bugs in a coffee can.

Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., who chairs the Commerce Committee, said guns would not be needed as long as pilots kept cockpit doors locked while in flight.



"You can put the rule in right now and cut out all the argument about pistols and stun guns," Hollings said.



Yeah, lock them in for an hours-long flight. The pilots can pack a bag lunch, and if they have to, they can pee in their shoes. Hell, Hollings does it all the time, and no one notices.

Opponents of arming pilots have said reinforced cockpit doors now required on all planes mean that pistols are unnecessary. They have also expressed concern that an errant shot might hit a passenger or damage a key electrical system on the plane.

I hate to point this out, but if a shot is in a position to damage the electrical system, doesn't that mean that the bad guys are already in the cockpit? You can't argue both of these positions at once. As for the passengers, they are already lying in the aisles with broken necks from the "in-flight maneuvers."

Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., a co-sponsor of legislation to arm pilots, asked Magaw to reconsider his opposition.



Besides the Senate bill, a bill in the House would allow pilots to be armed. The House Transportation Committee is scheduled to take up the bill this week.



Well, lets hope something comes of the legislation. This is not about pilots, or airline safety. This is about an entrenched anti-gun lobby throwing its weight around.