“The Transportation Security Administration will not arm its officers in the wake of the November attack at Los Angeles International Airport that left one screener dead,” usatoday.com reports. “TSA Administrator John Pistole said a review of the Nov. 1 shooting that killed behavior-detection officer Gerardo Hernandez is centered on improving communications with airport police and local law enforcement, the Associated Press reported. Other key issues are police response time and where panic alarms are placed and how effective they are.” Strange how USA Today, the AP and the TSA avoided any direct mention of the fact that the armed cops who should have been protecting the TSA officer (and the public) were on toilet and lunch breaks at the time of the attack. Allegedly. The TSA union disagreed with Pistole’s anti-pistol position . . .
J. David Cox Sr., national president of the American Federation of Government Employees, said that the union was “disappointed” by Pistole’s comments, calling them “premature” because the shooting investigation has not been completed and the comment period has not closed.
“We encourage the Administrator to avoid making judgments before all of the facts and recommendations have been considered,” Cox said in an e-mail statement to USA TODAY. “The tragic events at LAX exposed a critical vulnerability in our airport screening areas, one that is left unfilled at our peril. The current patchwork of security protocols is not up to the task of defending against sudden and violent attack like the one we witnessed last year. We believe a consistent, professional, and armed presence would close that vulnerability.
“TSA has the authority to create a new classification of professional law enforcement officials to defend our screening areas in a coordinated manner. Our recommendation is that TSA act quickly but judiciously to do just that.”
See now that’s funny! Even the TSA Union knows that it’s members are (as a group) about as ready to counter an active shooter threat as Jabba the Hut (who is, after all, a fictional character). And, with a straight face, they suggest another layer of armed law enforcement officials in charge of transportation security to complement the airport police, city police, state police, U.S. Air Marshals, TSA, FBI, CPB and U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (where appropriate), DHS and John McClane.
I’ve got an idea! How about we “let” armed Americans exercise their natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms while they travel to both deter terrorists and psycho killers and deal with the threat when it arises? It so crazy it just might work!