House to Investigate Delays Preventing Pilots from being Armed
-- Please join more than 30,000 others in petitioning Congress
and the President
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
SUMMARY: GOA encourages concerned citizens to visit the Airline
Pilots' Security Alliance website at http://www.secure-skies.org and
sign their petition addressed to Congress and the White House. By
joining the 30,000 plus Americans who have already signed the
petition, you will add your voice to the growing number of concerned
citizens who want pilots armed now. The petition will be closed
down on Sunday night at midnight (April 28), and will be presented
to Rep. John Mica (R-FL) who is spearheading Congressional hearings
on this issue next week.
(Thursday, April 25, 2002) -- It seems that each day brings another
story relating to breakdowns in airport security. Yet the
administration still continues to drag its feet, thus failing to arm
our nation's pilots.
Rep. John Mica (R-FL), who is Chairman of the House Aviation
Subcommittee, has decided to formally look into this issue. He has
scheduled hearings for May 2, at which time Gun Owners of America
plans to submit written testimony. Several pro-gun pilots will be
appearing in person to testify as well.
Representative John Hostettler (R-IN) and Senator Bob Smith (R-NH)
plan to lead a press conference following the hearings where other
congressmen, pilots and family members of 9-11 victims plan to
speak.
While the planned schedule is encouraging, it's a shame that such
hearings are even necessary. Gun owners were instrumental in
pressuring Congress to pass an armed pilots provision last year.
President Bush then signed that legislation into law in November.
But administration officials have been diligently working against
this law -- officials such as Transportation Secretary Norman
Mineta, who received an F- rating by GOA when he was a member of
Congress.
"I don't feel we should have lethal weapons in the cockpit," Mineta
told reporters in March. This statement is not surprising coming
from him. As a congressman, he cosponsored a host of gun control
bills, including legislation to impose waiting periods for handgun
purchases; a bill to ban certain handguns; a bill to ban certain
rifles and shotguns; and other gun control measures.
In fact, Mr. Mineta was such a reliable gun control proponent that
Sarah Brady's Handgun Control group regularly endorsed him.
Mineta's opposition comes despite the fact that 73 percent of
airline pilots -- and more than 75 percent of the American public --
support measures to arm pilots in airplane cockpits. To combat
these highly placed sources of opposition, the Airline Pilots'
Security Alliance (APSA) is gathering signatures in support of this
goal. The group plans to present these signatures to Rep. Mica and
President Bush next week.
ACTION:
GOA encourages its members to go to http://www.secure-skies.org and
sign the APSA petition in support of arming our pilots before Sunday
night at midnight (April 28).
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PETITION:
"It has been more than seven months since the terrorist attacks of
September 11. We have since seen the disappointing results of an
over-reliance on passenger screenings to keep terrorists off our
aircraft. We know that with more than 100,000 Federal Air Marshals
required to adequately protect our flights, that program will never
be viable.
"We expect the proposed new cockpit door will significantly slow
attempts to breach the flight deck, yet there is no such thing as
an impenetrable door. Moreover, the door is often opened for
physiological needs, thereby turning a barrier into a passageway.
"Too much time has already been wasted in the quest for improved
airline security.... Common sense and logic dictate that the men
and women we trust each day with our lives when we board an airliner
can and should be trusted with firearms in order to provide the
critical last line of defense. An American fighter shooting us down
or needlessly subjecting ourselves to another fatal airborne attack
simply because pilots are not armed should never be allowed to
happen.
"Please provide the American people the protection they deserve by
establishing a program to train and arm our pilots NOW!!"
****************************
Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
bounce back as undeliverable.
To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.
To unsubscribe send a message to
gunowners_list@capwiz.mailmanager.net with the word unsubscribe in
the subject line.
Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that
address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.
-- Please join more than 30,000 others in petitioning Congress
and the President
Gun Owners of America E-Mail/FAX Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org
SUMMARY: GOA encourages concerned citizens to visit the Airline
Pilots' Security Alliance website at http://www.secure-skies.org and
sign their petition addressed to Congress and the White House. By
joining the 30,000 plus Americans who have already signed the
petition, you will add your voice to the growing number of concerned
citizens who want pilots armed now. The petition will be closed
down on Sunday night at midnight (April 28), and will be presented
to Rep. John Mica (R-FL) who is spearheading Congressional hearings
on this issue next week.
(Thursday, April 25, 2002) -- It seems that each day brings another
story relating to breakdowns in airport security. Yet the
administration still continues to drag its feet, thus failing to arm
our nation's pilots.
Rep. John Mica (R-FL), who is Chairman of the House Aviation
Subcommittee, has decided to formally look into this issue. He has
scheduled hearings for May 2, at which time Gun Owners of America
plans to submit written testimony. Several pro-gun pilots will be
appearing in person to testify as well.
Representative John Hostettler (R-IN) and Senator Bob Smith (R-NH)
plan to lead a press conference following the hearings where other
congressmen, pilots and family members of 9-11 victims plan to
speak.
While the planned schedule is encouraging, it's a shame that such
hearings are even necessary. Gun owners were instrumental in
pressuring Congress to pass an armed pilots provision last year.
President Bush then signed that legislation into law in November.
But administration officials have been diligently working against
this law -- officials such as Transportation Secretary Norman
Mineta, who received an F- rating by GOA when he was a member of
Congress.
"I don't feel we should have lethal weapons in the cockpit," Mineta
told reporters in March. This statement is not surprising coming
from him. As a congressman, he cosponsored a host of gun control
bills, including legislation to impose waiting periods for handgun
purchases; a bill to ban certain handguns; a bill to ban certain
rifles and shotguns; and other gun control measures.
In fact, Mr. Mineta was such a reliable gun control proponent that
Sarah Brady's Handgun Control group regularly endorsed him.
Mineta's opposition comes despite the fact that 73 percent of
airline pilots -- and more than 75 percent of the American public --
support measures to arm pilots in airplane cockpits. To combat
these highly placed sources of opposition, the Airline Pilots'
Security Alliance (APSA) is gathering signatures in support of this
goal. The group plans to present these signatures to Rep. Mica and
President Bush next week.
ACTION:
GOA encourages its members to go to http://www.secure-skies.org and
sign the APSA petition in support of arming our pilots before Sunday
night at midnight (April 28).
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PETITION:
"It has been more than seven months since the terrorist attacks of
September 11. We have since seen the disappointing results of an
over-reliance on passenger screenings to keep terrorists off our
aircraft. We know that with more than 100,000 Federal Air Marshals
required to adequately protect our flights, that program will never
be viable.
"We expect the proposed new cockpit door will significantly slow
attempts to breach the flight deck, yet there is no such thing as
an impenetrable door. Moreover, the door is often opened for
physiological needs, thereby turning a barrier into a passageway.
"Too much time has already been wasted in the quest for improved
airline security.... Common sense and logic dictate that the men
and women we trust each day with our lives when we board an airliner
can and should be trusted with firearms in order to provide the
critical last line of defense. An American fighter shooting us down
or needlessly subjecting ourselves to another fatal airborne attack
simply because pilots are not armed should never be allowed to
happen.
"Please provide the American people the protection they deserve by
establishing a program to train and arm our pilots NOW!!"
****************************
Please do not reply directly to this message, as your reply will
bounce back as undeliverable.
To subscribe to free, low-volume GOA alerts, go to
http://www.gunowners.org/ean.htm on the web. Change of e-mail
address may also be made at that location.
To unsubscribe send a message to
gunowners_list@capwiz.mailmanager.net with the word unsubscribe in
the subject line.
Problems, questions or comments? The main GOA e-mail address
goamail@gunowners.org is at your disposal. Please do not add that
address to distribution lists sending more than ten messages per
week or lists associated with issues other than gun rights.