Responsible Firearms Ownership 

Terrorists Exploit America's Gun Phobia

               Dr. Michael S. Brown
               Sept. 18, 2001
 

            As the immediate shock of the September
            Eleventh attacks transmutes into long-term
            anger, Americans are asking tough
            questions. Members of the gun rights
            community have their own views on airline
            security, probably not shared by mainstream
            society, but worth considering in light of
            the extraordinary challenges that face us.

            Under current rules, airline passengers are
            disarmed and pilots forbidden to carry guns
            on the theory that guns are dangerous and
            would only escalate a violent situation. As
            with other shortsighted anti-gun efforts, this
            one wrongly assumed that safety was
            assured if guns could be eliminated.

            The success of the terrorist attacks certainly
            made a mockery of that policy.

            Members of the gun rights community are
            wondering what would have happened if a
            passenger on one or more of the doomed
            jetliners had been armed with a simple
            handgun. No doubt some have, in their
            dreams, envisioned a little old lady with a
            revolver dispatching the suicide squad
            before they could overpower the unarmed
            air crew.

            For decades, Americans have been taught
            from a very young age that it is not
            appropriate to resist criminals, especially if
            there is some risk involved in doing so.
            Instead we are told to call 911 and wait for
            helpful government employees to arrive.
            Heart-wrenching reports of doomed
            passengers dialing 911 in vain are an
            indicator of how successfully we have been
            disarmed and indoctrinated.

            Those who have not been paying attention
            to security issues seem surprised at how
            easy it was for a group of determined men to
            take over four jetliners. But we have already
            seen how easily one or two armed
            individuals can terrorize a school or office
            when all occupants have been disarmed by
            law.

            Arming pilots and making cockpit doors
            more secure seems like an obvious measure
            that everyone should agree with. However,
            this still leaves passengers in the main cabin
            vulnerable to attackers with improvised or
            smuggled weapons and pilots open to
            psychological pressure resulting from
            threats against the passengers.

            So far, plans to improve airline safety
            involve expensive new security forces and
            more intrusive passenger searches. Travelers
            will now be stripped of even the smallest
            nail clippers or scissors. Long delays at
            airports are expected to discourage casual
            travel.

            Advocates of armed civilian defense believe
            they have a better idea. They point out that
            thousands of potential security guards are
            already available. Millions of citizens
            across the country possess concealed
            weapon permits. This group has proven to
            be the most law-abiding segment of our
            society, even more so than police officers.

            A smaller subset of permit holders has
            acquired a high level of firearms training at
            numerous schools across the country. Some
            of the techniques they learn are borrowed
            from counter-terrorist experts. In many
            cases, the training exceeds that of ordinary
            policemen.
 

The size of this group is unknown, but it must number in the tens of thousands.  Most of these men and women have adopted self-defense shooting as a sport and some have developed an amazing level of skill.

 
            It's a safe bet that thousands of these
            individuals would volunteer to be unpaid
            security officers when they are flying
            anyway for business or personal reasons.
            This group is exquisitely aware of the
            special circumstances involved in using
            guns on aircraft and would gladly take
            additional specialized training.

            They would expect to obey certain
            restrictions on the type of guns and
            ammunition used. For example, special
            ammunition is available that will not
            penetrate the skin of an aircraft.

            By placing armed and trained civilians on
            flights at random, terrorist planning would
            be enormously complicated. It would not be
            possible for attackers to identify the armed
            guard before the attack, since he or she
            would look like an ordinary passenger.
            There might be more than one and very few
            would fit the profile of a hard-eyed,
            crew-cut federal marshal.

            The cost would be miniscule compared to
            that of assigning a paid law enforcement
            officer to each flight, current metal detector
            based searches would be adequate, and it
            would guarantee an immediate end to
            hijackings. Unfortunately, America has not
            yet recovered from its gun phobia enough to
            explore this cheap and effective solution.

            While we are perfectly comfortable having
            our soldiers shoot as many terrorists as
            possible, there is an illogical knee-jerk
            reaction to the idea of citizens participating
            in their own defense. The anti-gun lobby
            and other advocates of a disarmed and
            helpless public must bear some
            responsibility for the shamefully vulnerable
            position we now occupy.

            Dr. Michael S. Brown is an optometrist and
            member of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws,
            www.dsgl.org.