Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company  
The Boston Globe
July 11, 2002, Thursday ,THIRD EDITION
SECTION: NATIONAL/FOREIGN; Pg. A2

LENGTH: 1010 words

HEADLINE: THE NATION;
HOUSE VOTES TO ALLOW GUNS IN COCKPITS RESERVATIONS ON BILL CITED BY SENATORS AND WHITE HOUSE

BYLINE: By Susan Milligan, Globe Staff

BODY:
WASHINGTON - The House voted overwhelmingly yesterday to allow pilots to carry arms on commercial airlines, setting up a possible showdown with a reluctant Senate and the Bush administration, which has argued that security on board should be left to federal air marshals.

The legislation, approved 310-113, would allow some 70,000 commercial pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit if they have undergone special training. The test program would be voluntary for pilots, who could reject the offer of a weapon. But airlines would have to give pilots the option of carrying a handgun or a nonlethal stun gun to discourage terrorist attacks in the skies.

   "I personally want the pilot to have a lethal weapon on board," said Representative Don Young, Republican of Alaska and chairman of the House Transportation Committee. If an attacker tries to storm a cockpit, "I want to make sure that person doesn't have a chance," Young said. "9/11 wouldn't have happened if that pilot had had a weapon."

Organizations representing pilots lobbied heavily for the bill, winning broader support and a more sweeping package than they had hoped. The original bill would have required the Bush administration to create a two-year, temporary program to arm up to 2 percent of pilots, or a maximum of 1,400 pilots.

But after a revolt by Democratic and Republican lawmakers, the bill was strengthened to remove both the time limit and the cap on the number of pilots allowed to carry guns.

"What sense does it make to arm a tiny, tiny fraction of them?" said Representative Peter DeFazio, Democrat of Oregon and sponsor of the amendment to broaden the bill. "If the public knew what I know from my classified briefings about the state of aviation security, there would be a huge outcry and a groundswell of support for this bill."

Opponents, including Norman Mineta, the secretary of transportation, and John Magaw, director of the Transportation Safety Administration, argue that pilots should focus on flying the plane and leave the job of policing the cabin to trained marshals. The marshals ride aboard a small fraction of airline flights.

Some lawmakers warn that terrorists could wrestle guns from pilots, or that anxious pilots could accidentally shoot an innocent passenger.

"I'm not convinced that law enforcement is an appropriate role for airline pilots," said Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson, Democrat of Texas.

She cited the recent case of two America West pilots who were arrested July 1 for trying to fly an airplane while drunk. She wondered aloud what would have happened if those pilots also had guns.

"People are basically gun people, or they're not gun people. For me, I say we should be spending the money to secure their cockpits," said Representative Maxine Waters, Democrat of California.

In November, Congress approved legislation authorizing the Bush administration to arm pilots, but Magaw told a Senate committee in May that the agency would not do so. The new legislation would require the administration to set up the program.

Flight attendants generally do not like the House bill, saying it protects pilots at the expense of defenseless cabin crew.

"This bill tells terrorists, 'We'll sacrifice the passengers and the cabin crew, but not the plane.' And as a cabin crew member and frequent passenger, I resent that," said Patricia Friend, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants, which has 50,000 members.

The bill would require self-defense training of flight attendants. But lawmakers deliberately denied cabin crew the right to carry either handguns or stun guns because they said a passenger could overpower a flight attendant and confiscate the weapon, a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee spokesman said.

The Bush administration had floated the idea of arming pilots with nonlethal stun guns, but that idea was rejected by the House as an inadequate defense against a determined terrorist.

Pilots' unions note that many pilots already have training in the use of firearms. Some 55 percent of commercial pilots are former military officers, said Diana Banister, a spokeswoman for the Allied Pilots Association, which represents more than 13,600 American Airlines pilots, according to its Web site.

Among the all-Democratic delegation from Massachusetts, five members voted against the bill: Representatives Michael E. Capuano of Somerville, Edward J. Markey of Malden, James P. McGovern of Worcester, Richard Neal of Springfield, and John F. Tierney of Salem. Three voted for it: Representatives Barney Frank of Newton, Stephen F. Lynch of Boston, and Martin T. Meehan of Lowell. Representative William Delahunt of Quincy and Representative John Olver of Amherst did not participate in the roll call.

The measure faces a tougher battle in the Senate, where the Senate Commerce Committee chairman, Ernest Hollings of South Carolina, opposes arming pilots.

But pilots were buoyed yesterday by the surprise support of Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California, for similar legislation sponsored by Senator Bob Smith, Republican of New Hampshire.

Pilots groups say they hope that the strength of the House vote will generate momentum in the Senate. President Bush has not said he would veto legislation to arm pilots.

"It's just an educational process," said American Airlines pilot Gary Boettcher. The Allied Pilots Association sent lawmakers a compact disc clip that showed a simulation of what would happen if an attacker charged the cockpit doors.

The attacker in the five-minute video took control of the cabin within 12 seconds, but Boettcher said armed pilots would have killed the attacker first.

House supporters said that Senate approval of a similar bill would convince Bush he should sign it. "It certainly sends a message to both the administration and the White House to act accordingly," Mica said.

"I'm not worried about the White House. Let them veto it. We'll override it," said Young, chairman of the House Transportation Committee.

GRAPHIC: PHOTO, Senator Conrad Burns, Republican of Montana - joined by Senator Bob Smith, Republican of New Hampshire, and Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California - said yesterday that he supports the bill seeking to arm pilots. / AP PHOTO

LOAD-DATE: July 11, 2002