I saw nothing about a panic in any part of that short article. The main issue here is that a sidearm is illegal on an airliner without a special (and nearly impossible to get) license. The reason that the flight was diverted is that there was no way to know, without searching the plane, if any more weapons were onboard, nor to know the intentions of whoever had left it there. I wouldn't trust even a trained officer to properly discharge a firearm aboard an aircraft in flight. Unless a gun is loaded with glaser rounds, the bullets have a high probability of piercing the walls of the aircraft, possibly causing a catastrphic decompression. I'm all in favor of carry permits for anyone without a criminal record and who passes a gun safety course, but firearms should virtually NEVER be carried on a public flight. -----Original Message----- From: Jean-Francois Avon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Wednesday, April 05, 2000 6:14 PM To: Cypherpunks Subject: Fwd: Dangerous Gun! ==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE================== ALERT: Vicious Gun Brings Down Airliner! "Eeeeek! It's .............. a .............gunnnn!" "Norfolk Tower calling all flights. Be advised of the national emergency and standby for delays in your flight pattern. Delta Express Flight 2395 will be diverting to land at this airport because it is carrying a handgun." We can't make this story any funnier than it is. Delta Express Flight 2395 actually aborted its April 3 flight from New York to Florida and emergency landed in Virginia, because somebody found a loaded sidearm in the passenger cabin bathroom. Click on the AP story http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20000403/aponline202745_000.ht m Nobody was waving the firearm around. Nobody was threatening anyone with it. Nobody was even holding it. It was inert. Yet panic erupted. The plane had to be landed abruptly. The FBI was called in to search the plane. Why? Because the anti-self defense lobby has absolutely convinced so many Americans that firearms are dangerous in any condition and at all times. Loaded or unloaded. The very presence of a firearm strikes terror into the hearts of otherwise intelligent Americans - -- all because the firearm fear-mongers have succeeded so well. A loaded firearm lying quietly on the sink poses no danger to anyone unless they pick it up and misuse it. In just a few seconds the sidearm on the plane could have been unloaded and rendered entirely and utterly 100% safe. But no. The "public health" propaganda, funded by the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and others, has managed to make people think guns are immediately and always dangerous. The mere "presence" of guns is a public health menace, they say. Delta Express apparently believes that big lie. What if the airline crewmembers had been properly trained, and not terrified, about firearms? The flight would have proceeded without any delay necessary. Passengers would have suffered no danger, no inconvenience and no panic. Are the flight attendants incapable of unloading a revolver or semi-automatic sidearm? Are likewise the flight officers incapable of unloading a sidearm? If so, it is because they have been intentionally denied the proper training. The airline crews would not be alone. A whole generation of Americans has been systematically propagandized against having any interest or knowledge about firearms. Uneducated children became ignorant and fearful adults. What used to be common sense has disappeared. Grown men and women cower and shake when a gun is around. Would the flight crew have aborted the flight had a bow and arrow been found under a seat? Or a long knife? A single firearm, an inanimate object lying inertly without a person attached to it, was enough to terrify Delta into bringing down an airliner ... and that story made national news on the AP Wire. Understand: this is a sign of the huge victory the victim disarmament lobby has won in the war of ideas. Need confirmation? Click on: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/bluesky_dougherty/20000330_xnjdo_sixth_grad.sht ml ************************************************* Jon Dougherty's article there describes how a sixth-grade student was disciplined and sent to psychological counseling because he advocated rational self-defense and the Second Amendment. No joke -- read it -- see the thought-police state in action. Then you'll see how morally bizarre this nation is becoming -- all the result of firearms fear- mongering. Will the enemy win the hearts and minds of all Americans? Folks, we have a mighty lot of work to do to save our national sanity and our individual liberty. Let's get moving! Click on http://www.jpfo.org and look at the many educational tools, the strategies to change the terms of the debate. Practically everything you need to use is available, much of it absolutely free on the website. Take action! Use just one of these tools or strategies, but do it now. When the firearms confiscation order arrives in your mailbox, it will be way too late. Newsletter from JPFO http://207.227.32.27/ Eldon W. -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -- -- Get your free Canadian email address at http://mail.webcity.ca/ powered by OutBlaze _________________________________________________________ Enlighten your in-box. http://www.topica.com/t/15 ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
