Terrorists exploit America's gun phobia

By Dr. Michael S. Brown
web posted September 24, 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 aircrew.

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).

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