Support for Armed Pilots Remains High -
Opposition Waning
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"...On behalf of our over 4 million members and the tens of millions of
Americans who believe in pilots being given a practical and effective
tool to defend the cockpit from terrorist attacks, I am appealing to you
to give Ellen Saracini the opportunity to testify..." |
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-- NRA EVP Wayne LaPierre to Sen. Hollings (D-SC) |
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Sen. Hollings |
Ellen Saracini |
Support for legislation that would establish a program to arm pilots
continues to gather momentum. A little over two weeks ago,
the House
passed by nearly a 3-to-1 margin its bill, H.R. 4635, which would
establish an armed pilots program. Last week's resignation of
Undersecretary of Transportation for Security John Magaw - the head of the
Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who was publicly opposed
to the idea of training pilots how to safely handle a firearm on the
flight deck - removed one of the bureaucratic obstacles to passage of this
critical legislation. And this week, the U.S. Senate finally began
discussing its armed pilots legislation,
S. 2554, and Secretary of
Transportation Norman Mineta's previous opposition to the proposal seems
to be waning.
On Tuesday, Secretary Mineta told the Aviation Subcommittee of the House
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure that he had instructed
Magaw's replacement at TSA, Admiral James M. Loy, to examine the
possibility of arming commercial airline pilots. And on Thursday, the
Magaw's replacement,
Adm. James M. Loy |
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing
on aviation security where the only real vocal opposition to arming
pilots expressed by a lawmaker came from U.S. Senator Ernest Hollings
(D-S.C.), who chairs the committee.
Hollings's opposition to armed pilots is so extreme that he rejected a
request to testify before Congress from the widow of a pilot who was
killed in the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Ellen Saracini, whose
husband was killed when the plane he piloted, United Airlines Flight
175, was hijacked by terrorists and crashed into the World Trade Center,
was on The O'Reilly Factor Wednesday night. She told Bill O'Reilly that
Senator Hollings would not let her testify before his committee. After
O'Reilly asked if she had contacted Hollings directly, she stated, "I
have a letter right here that was addressed to the senator. [U.S.]
Senator Bob Smith (R-N.H.) wrote a letter, asking that I be able to
testify and it was denied."
When NRA Executive Vice President Wayne
LaPierre heard from Ellen Saracini, and she told him of her not being
allowed to testify, LaPierre sent a letter to Senator Hollings asking,
"On behalf of our over 4 million members and the tens of millions of
Americans who believe in pilots being given a practical and effective
tool to defend the cockpit from terrorist attacks, I am appealing to you
to give Ellen Saracini the opportunity to testify."
Fortunately, few lawmakers are willing to openly join Hollings in his
opposition to S. 2554, while supporters of the bill continue to make
themselves known. The bill now has 24 co-sponsors, and
U.S. Senator Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) announced
he supports the bill after having spoken
to two pilots recently when weather delayed his flight out of Chicago's
O'Hare International Airport.
Quick action in the Senate on S. 2554
remains critical, so now is the time to contact your U.S. Senators and
urge them to support this legislation. Please contact your U.S. Senators
at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to cosponsor S. 2554, work to ensure the
bill is brought up for consideration, or support its being offered as an
amendment to other legislation being considered on the Senate floor. You
can find additional contact information by using our "Write Your
Representatives" tool. Please also be sure to raise this issue if you
attend a town hall meeting over the next several weeks (see story
below).
Related Stories...
More About Federal Issues
Armed Pilots Bill Flies Through House (July 2002)
Arming Pilots Takes Another Critical Step Forward (June 2002)
Remind All Lawmakers to Support Arming Pilots (June 2002)
Keep Up The Pressure on Magaw & Mineta (May 2002)
Magaw & Mineta Say "NO" to Armed Pilots (May 2002)
Call to Arm Pilots Grows Louder (May 2002)
Airline Pilots Petition President Bush (Apr. 2002)
Aviation Security Bill Includes Armed Pilots Language (Nov. 2001)
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