Last week, Senator Rand Paul pushed legislation that would allow pilots to carry firearms while flying in the US and internationally.
“I want every potential jihadist and terrorist in the world to know that our pilots are armed, and that if you come into the cockpit you will be shot,” Paul told CNN of his legislation last year. “And so I think there is a deterrent effect from guns.”
As it currently stands, thousands of pilots are able to carry concealed aboard their planes after the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Flight Deck Officer program was introduced, following the events of 9/11.
The FFDO allows pilots and other flight crew members to take special training courses from federal Air Marshals and then, as deputized members of law enforcement, they may carry concealed weapons aboard their flights, although they have to keep their possession of a weapon in-flight quiet.
Under Rand’s proposed bill, it would make the process easier by reducing the required restrictions. It would also create five new facilities that would train those who want to carry a firearm.
“As you can imagine — this is a crucial program in a time that our airline pilots are the primary target of hijackings and other terrorist attacks,” Paul wrote.
Funding for the current program was on the chopping block by the Obama Administration. Their reasoning behind the cut is because they feel the TSA’s pre-flight screening has stepped up, as well as the requirement for locks on cockpit doors.
You know, because no one has ever been able to sneak anything dangerous past TSA, and locks always keep people out.
