DIONNE: Gun Law Pragmatism: guns on a plane?

[yurbud]

Someone should have thought of this sooner.

On the other hand, the NRA may start making this argument.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/19/AR2007041902548.html?hpid=opinionsbox1

Gun Law Pragmatism

By E. J. Dionne Jr.
Friday, April 20, 2007; Page A31



In other spheres, we act reasonably when faced with new problems. When Richard Reid showed that nasty things could be done with shoes on airplanes, airport security started examining shoes. When liquids were seen as a potential danger, we regulated the quantity of liquids we could take on flights. We barred people from carrying weapons onto airliners long ago.

If we can act pragmatically in the skies, why can't we be equally practical here on the ground?

In its zeal to defend our inviolable right to bear arms, is the National Rifle Association going to argue for concealed carry on airplanes? If not, won't the organization be violating its core principle that all of us should be free to be armed at all times?

No one pretends that smarter gun laws would prevent all violence. But it's a disgrace that we can't try to learn from tragedies such as this week's Virginia Tech massacre and figure out whether better laws might at least modestly reduce the likelihood of such horrific events happening again.

[Deep13]

1. I'm going to need something to fight off those snakes!

[slackmaster]

2. I read that in the local newspaper this morning - Not one original idea

Nothing new, just the same old facile non-solutions.

The obvious hole in the system that allowed the VT shooter to acquire his weapons was the state of Virginia's inefficient and incomplete reporting to the FBI of involuntary mental health commitments.

[Deep13]

4. That and the fact that people entering a college campus...

...don't do through a metal detector.

[slackmaster]

9. No gun-free zone should be without a metal detector

It makes sense for courthouses and airports. But declaring that guns aren't allowed in an area without putting any kind of enforcement in place just creates target opportunities for a wacko.

[Deep13]

10. yes

[av8rdave]

3. is the National Rifle Association going to argue for concealed carry on airplanes?

They already have. In the late 80s, the NRA fought legislation to ban plastic guns. Plastic guns are inferior to metal ones, and serve only one purpose: making their detection more difficult. That is when I realized the kind of organization the NRA is.

[yurbud]

5. they said the barrel would still show up on xray, but you could break it down so

barrel is in one corner of your bag, body in another, and it would look like you have a toy gun and a metal pipe in your bag.

It would be tougher to get bullets through though.

Maybe.

I had a swiss army knife I lost before 9/11, and found it in the side pocket of my carry on bag two years after. I had made about eight flights without anyone seeing it on their monitor, or caring if they did see it.

[av8rdave]

8. You're right about that, but again,

the fact that plastic guns are inferior and not long lasting means their only real purpose is stealth. As you said, the bullets are another matter. This issue was hot many, many years before 9/11, when security was a lot more lax.

[slackmaster]

11. There is no gun in production that can evade an airport metal detector

Nor has there ever been. One company experimented with an a nearly all-plastic two-shot derringer many years ago. The barrel was made of some kind of polycarbonate resin. It was very inaccurate and prone to explode, it still had a few metal parts (e.g. springs); plus there is no ammunition made that cannot be seen on an airport X-ray machine.

Plastic guns are basically a myth.

[av8rdave]

12. That's actually reassuring to hear that

I have very limited to know knowledge of firearms, other than what little I picked up qualifying on a few in the military.

It's strange that the NRA raised such a stink about the issue way back then. I guess it's just part of their automated approach to any weapon related legislation.

[slackmaster]

13. Yes, NRA's reaction was pure knee-jerk

As is often the case.

I have a Glock G17 pistol in my collection. The frame alone is quite light when the gun is disassembled, but it contains enough steel and stainless steel inserts to reliably trigger an airport metal detector - That is by design, so the manufacturer could avoid being accused of trying to make an undetectable gun. But the slide and barrel assembly have over a pound of ferrous metal, almost as much as a 1911 pistol (the classic military .45 with which you are probably familiar).

[yurbud]

14. I think cops use that Glock 9. It's also lighter. Not necessarily less durable

it's more like polymers than plastic

[shain from kane]

6. There are paraffin tests to prove that someone has shot a gun. My solution is that there be

a visible residue on anyone's skin that has even handled a gun for a 24-hour period, like a paintball in the middle of the forehead. And I mean packing it for portage, cleaning it, shooting it, etc. In that manner we would be warned to steer clear of such individuals.

[Captain Hilts]

7. Canada has many hunters, strong gun laws and few gunshot deaths. nt

[yurbud]

15. Yep. I have a New England Journal of Medicine article comparing Seattle & Vancouver BC

gun deaths and assaults.

Seattles are much higher, and the difference is nearly all attributable to handguns.