Obama secretly ends program that let pilots carry guns

This editorial originally appeared in the Washington Times. Republished with permission.

After the September 11 attacks, commercial airline pilots were allowed to carry guns if they completed a federal-safety program. No longer would unarmed pilots be defenseless as remorseless hijackers seized control of aircraft and rammed them into buildings.

Now President Obama is quietly ending the federal firearms program, risking public safety on airlines in the name of an anti-gun ideology.

The Obama administration this past week diverted some $2 million from the pilot training program to hire more supervisory staff, who will engage in field inspections of pilots.

This looks like completely unnecessary harassment of the pilots. The 12,000 Federal Flight Deck Officers, the pilots who have been approved to carry guns, are reported to have the best behavior of any federal law enforcement agency. There are no cases where any of them has improperly brandished or used a gun. There are just a few cases where officers have improperly used their IDs.

Fewer than one percent of the officers have any administrative actions brought against them and, we are told, virtually all of those cases "are trumped up."

Take a case against one flight officer who had visited the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles within the last few weeks. While there, the pilot noticed that federal law enforcement officers can, with the approval of a superior, obtain a license plate that cannot be traced, a key safety feature for law enforcement personnel. So the pilot asked if, as a member of the federal program, he was eligible. The DMV staffer checked and said "no." The next day administrative actions were brought against the pilot for "misrepresenting himself." These are the kinds of cases that President Obama wants to investigate.

Since Mr. Obama's election, pilots have told us that the approval process for letting pilots carry guns on planes slowed significantly. Last week the problem went from bad to worse. Federal Flight Deck Officers - the pilots who have been approved to carry guns - indicate that the approval process has stalled out.

Pilots cannot openly speak about the changing policies for fear of retaliation from the Transportation Security Administration. Pilots who act in any way that causes a "loss of confidence" in the armed pilot program risk criminal prosecution as well as their removal from the program. Despite these threats, pilots in the Federal Flight Deck Officers program have raised real concerns in multiple interviews.

Arming pilots after Sept. 11 was nothing new. Until the early 1960s, American commercial passenger pilots on any flight carrying U.S. mail were required to carry handguns. Indeed, U.S. pilots were still allowed to carry guns until as recently as 1987. There are no records that any of these pilots (either military or commercial) ever causing any significant problems.

Screening of airplane passengers is hardly perfect. While armed marshals are helpful, the program covers less than 3 percent of the flights out of Washington D.C.'s three airports and even fewer across the country. Sky marshals are costly and quit more often than other law-enforcement officers.

Armed pilots are a cost-effective backup layer of security. Terrorists can only enter the cockpit through one narrow entrance, and armed pilots have some time to prepare themselves as hijackers penetrate the strengthened cockpit doors. With pilots, we have people who are willing to take on the burden of protecting the planes for free. About 70 percent of the pilots at major American carriers have military backgrounds.

Frankly, as a matter of pure politics, we cannot understand what the administration is thinking. Nearly 40 House Democrats are in districts were the NRA is more popular than House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We can't find any independent poll in which the public is demanding that pilots disarm. Why does this move make sense?

Only anti-gun extremists and terrorist recruits are worried about armed pilots. So why is the Obama administration catering to this tiny lobby at the expense of public safety?

The Federal Flight Deck Officers Association (FFDOA)has posted the following alert on their web site. They are the experts on this issue and we recommend contacting your legislators as they advise. Republished with permission.

FFDOA ACTION ALERT

Contact your representatives in Washington TODAY!

The Washington Times published an editorial on Tuesday (see link below) that criticized the TSA and the Administration for mismanagement and planning to shut-down of the FFDO program. FFDOA is working with legislators who are looking into the allegations that have been made with respect to inappropriate use of the FFDO budget, and unfair Administrative Actions taken against FFDO's. In the case cited in the editorial, FFDOA is aggressively defending the FFDO.

Please, contact your Senators and Representatives RIGHT NOW! Ask for the staff person that handles aviation security matters and respectfully ask them why the Administration is not supporting our nation's most effective and cost efficient defenses against 9/11-style hijackings. Remind them that:

• FFDOs are a low cost, highly effective deterrent and defense against the potential use of our nation's airliners as weapons of mass destruction. The administration should be looking for ways to expand this highly effective but low cost program.
• Airline pilots were armed for many decades prior to 1987 and in the 1960's, pilots were required to carry guns when flying US Mail. It was the disarming of airline pilots in 1987 that made the 9/11/01 attacks on our country possible.
• Airline pilots who fly 35,000 safe flights per day and every FFDO had to first be an airline pilot. Airline pilots are among the most carefully selected and continuously evaluated group of professionals in our country.
• FFDOs protected over 1 million flights last year.

Contacting your U.S. Senators and Congressmen is easy. Call the Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and ask for your Senators (both) and Representative. If you know your zip code, the Capitol Switchboard can connect you to your elected representatives!

If you would prefer, you can also send an email to your Senators and Congressmen. Locate your two U.S. Senators and your U.S. Congressperson at www.senate.gov or www.house.gov. Include the link (http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/mar/17/guns-on-a-plane-obama-se...) to the March 17th Washington Times editorial for their reference, and politely ask them what is going on with the FFDO program

You have tremendous influence over your elected representatives - phone calls and emails from constituents have a huge impact. Please, make the call RIGHT NOW and fire off the emails. With your support we can and will bring positive change to the FFDO program!

Contact information for Ohio Residents:

Senator Sherrod Brown (D) 202-224-2315
Senator George Voinovich (R) 202-224-3353

Representatives:
District 1 Steve Driehaus (D) 202-225-2216
District 2 Jean Schmidt (R) 202-225-3164
District 3 Michael Turner (R) 202-225-6465
District 4 Jim Jordan (R) 202-225-2676
District 5 Bob Latta (R) 202-225-6405
District 6 Charles Wilson (D) 202-225-5705
District 7 Steve Austria (R) 202-225-4324
District 8 John Boehner (R) 202-225-6205
District 9 Marcy Kaptur (D) 202-225-4146
District 10 Kennis Kucinich (D) 202-225-5871
District 11 Marcia Fudge (D) 202-225-7032
District 12 Patrick Jiberi (R) 202-225-5355
District 13 Betty Sutton (D) 202-225-3401
District 14 Steven LaTourette (R)202-225-5731
District 15 Mary Jo Kilroy (D) 202-225-2015
District 16 John Boccieri (D) 202-225-3876
District 17 Tim Ryan (D) 202-225-5261
District 18 Zachary Space (D) 202-225-6265