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Daily News, Links and Information Each day ARM USA receives email that we believe would be of interest or concern to visitors of our website. These messages are far too numerous to forward to members of our mailing list. In an effort to make as much information available as possible, we'll be posting the information we receive here, on our new Daily News, Links and Information page. The format used to post the information may vary until we get comfortable with its presentation. Your suggestions and comments are welcome. (comments@ARMUSA.com) Thank you for taking the time to visit 50BMGstore.com. Frank & Jolynne
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Tuesday, May 7, 2000 APSA Armed Pilot Update, May, 2002 PLEASE PASS THIS UPDATE ALONG TO ANYONE YOU KNOW THAT MAY FAVOR ARMING AIRLINE PILOTS! Overview Welcome aboard. Many of you are new to our APSA Updates and ALERTS. We try to send Updates twice per month, but often events overtake us and our communication slips. So, we'll apologize in advance but you can always check our Website for the latest happenings. If you are a grizzled veteran with us, you will note a sharper edge to this Update. We have been patient for eight months - far too long to be flying DISARMED AND DEFENSELESS. It's past time to get this done; the gloves are coming off. Tom Clancy would be envious of the plot since our last Update. Frankly,
for reasons we cannot discuss, as of a short week ago we believed an
affirmative decision on arming pilots was imminent. The Bush Administration
has again retreated to its tired, endless and pointless, "We'll
have a decision in a few weeks" mantra. The most successful terrorist
attacks in human history are now almost eight months in our past, and
President Bush and Transportation Security Administration boss John
Magaw are still incapable of figuring out whether airline pilots should
be armed. This, while they simultaneously tell us that American citizens
are on borrowed time for another 9/11 terrorist attack on U.S. Airliners.
Dr. John Lott, celebrated crime statistician and scholar at the American
Enterprise Institute has told us that while it would be more difficult
for terrorists to hijack airliners today than on 9/11, the reward to
them for doing so is far greater and so their motivation is corr Since the president is not doing what more than three-quarters of Americans want and law enforcement (including his own FBI) recommends, Congress is going to mandate that the Administration arm pilots. We think the Bush White House has chosen the path of least resistance: Bow to pressure from airline managements, refuse to make a decision and force Congress to mandate it. He cannot afford to publicly oppose arming pilots because, in the words of our friends in Congress, rarely has there been an issue with such broad and overwhelming support. Instead he hides behind indecision and endless analysis. The major groups that oppose arming airline pilots are terrorists, airline managements, and some in the Bush Administration. The opposition works quietly and in the shadows, those of us in favor shout from the rooftops. What was that old axiom your mother used to repeat about things you had to hide? Congress Picks Up Administration Slack On Tuesday, April 30th, Representatives John Mica (R-FL) and Don Young
(R-AK) introduced HR 4536 that will mandate an armed pilots program
and also address airline liability anxieties. Both Mr. Young and Mr.
Mica are enthusiastic supporters of arming pilots, and APSA thanks them
for their leadership. On Thursday, May 2nd, Chairman Mica held a hearing
in the House on our issue. APSA, representing ourselves and Allied Pilots'
Association (American), Southwest Airline Pilots' Association, Independent
Pilots' Association (UPS), and the Coalition of Airline Pilots' Associations
presented the then-current results of our on-line petition (at that
point, 44, 575 signatures - visit www.secure-skies.org for the present
count) to the Chairman just before the hearing, in a media-covered event.
We are grateful for the vigorous spirit of cooperation between our groups.
Every pilot represented by these organizations can be proud of their
selfless, a-political involvement. Separately, Press Conference in Senate Office Building Following Chairman Mica's hearing, the above pilot groups held a packed press conference in the Senate Russell Office Building. Present also were two pilots who lost family members on aircraft on 9/11. Senators Bob Smith (R-NH), Zell Miller (D-GA), Conrad Burns (R-MT), and Frank Murkowski (R-AK) and Representative John Hostettler (R-IN) spoke very eloquently in favor of arming pilots, and we are profoundly thankful for their leadership and support. Captain Al Aitken, who is Vice-Chairman of APA's Committee for Armed Defense of the Cockpit made excellent and direct opening remarks for pilots. He and APSA Chairman, Captain Tracy Price, then fielded questions from reporters. Congressional staffers told us this was the "mother of all press conferences" in that EVERY question was hit clear-outta-the-park. Media Coverage APSA Board members are increasing tapped for media appearances. APSA
Chairman Capt. Tracy Price has been a regular guest on the Chris Core
radio show on WMAL in Washington, DC, was interviewed by KSAT radio
in San Antonio and KSFO radio in San Francisco. Tracy was also a guest
on MSNBC. Al Aitken and Tracy appeared together on Fox News. Tracy was
a featured guest Sunday the 5th on CNN's Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer
in a live debate with former Northwest Airlines security boss Douglas
Laird. APSA Board member Bob Lambert has been regularly interviewed
on television and radio in Pittsburgh. APSA Board member Scott Lewis
was on the G. Gordon Liddy show two more times for a total of nearly
an hour. Following the May 2nd press conference, Scott was on MSNBC's
Dan Abrams Show, debating an "aviation expert" who also failed
to verbalize any coherent reason for opposing armed airline pilots.
Finally, in what is the Media Homerun of the Month, APSA Board member
Joe Gennaro w Liability-the Passion is Gone APSA and other pilot groups, most particularly our good friends at the Allied Pilots' Association, have worked hard to make certain that an arming-pilots program addresses managements' liability (read money) worries. For our time, energy, and financial investment for the sake of the airlines, some airlines, along with the ATA, have thanked us with relentless, staunch obstruction. We know that their resistance has iceberg-like proportions: what can't be seen is a lot more significant that what is above the surface. We have abandoned our hope of showing the ATA where they can benefit from our program for arming pilots and how they can easily solve their liability problems. Let the airline managements fret about liability. They have put profits ahead of people's lives; we're asking to protect our passengers and crew without any additional compensation. Tasers-More Bad News We know many of you have been up to speed on this debate, but its political
significance is growing exponentially and we need to tell you why, and
what YOU can do to combat this silliness. At Chairman Mica's hearing,
United Airlines VP of Corporate Security Captain Hank Krakowski used
his allotted five minutes to hold a Taser worship service. In fact,
he went so far as to ridiculously claim that, "The Taser is the
best overall weapon system." Best for whom? If he's concerned about
the well being of the terrorists, we'd have to agree. But we think he
is more worried about.Money! The airlines want the traveling public
to forget the horrors of 9/11 and come back out for an airliner ride.
United hopes that putting stun guns in the cockpit will make potential
travelers "feel" better. The airlines want travelers to keep
their heads in the sand and pretend that all is well; arming pilots
with lethal force will not work toward that end. Capt. Krakowski was
correct on one poi Since Krakowski brought up the issue, we can address it here. United
pilots are being subjected to what some call a blatant hours-long sales
promotion for Tasers. We cannot discuss the particulars of the training
but we will characterize it, in our view, as biased to the extreme,
not giving a "fair and balanced" view of the device's capabilities
and, much more importantly, its weaknesses and limitations. Neither
Airtaser Company nor United discuss what each and every law enforcement
official APSA has consulted has stated unequivocally: Tasers are NOT
to be employed against multiple OR armed OR trained attackers; and today's
terrorists meet ALL THREE of those criteria. Also, we have been told
that every law enforcement agency that uses Tasers requires at least
one other officer present with a firearm ready as a backup. APSA believes
that United Airlines is eager to sacrifice well-established, universal
law enforcement engagement rules on the altar of economic anxieties.
A dozen international airlines arm their pilots without incident. Pilots in this country were armed for decades without a single unsafe gun incident. When arming pilots with firearms has been shown to be a safe course of action, why are we even discussing less-than-optimal weapons? Why are some willing to forfeit the obvious benefits of firearms? Have we already forgotten the consequences of failing to defend the cockpit? What Now? The ball is STILL in President Bush's court, as it has been since he signed the Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19th of last year. Actually, it has been in his court since 9/12, when he could and should have issued an Executive Order arming pilots. Given the White House's stonewalling and hand wringing to date, we are not optimistic. The Congress, once again, holds the most promise, but time will elapse to boil down various bills to one that will be presented to our President. For the foreseeable future, airline pilots and our passengers will be flying DISARMED AND DEFENSELESS. Al-Qaeda, and other terrorists that we don't even know about yet, must be thrilled. Fundraising As you can see, APSA has done a lot and continues to be a key player in the fight to arm airline pilots with firearms. Your donation will make a difference. Even though your donations to APSA are NOT tax deductible, every single penny goes directly to the fight for arming pilots. No salaries, no admin costs - it's a good value for your donations dollar. Please send your donation to: APSA As we have stated many times, we are in this until we are armed. Relentless and Right. Stay the course. With your continued support and pressure on Washington, we will prevail over those who cannot see past their wallets. |
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From Citizens Of America Ladies and Gentlemen: As you know, Citizens Of America and KeepAndBearArms.com have an One goal of this petition is to force the federal government to respond TO HELP US POTENTIALLY EXPAND THE EFFECT of the Petition, Click here: http://www.keepandbeararms.com
and then scroll down to THANK YOU. ARM USA has been collecting signatures for the past 2 months. Please stop by the store to sign the petition, or download it from the link above. |
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From Newsmax.com
The changes began with the presidential election of 2000 and were accelerated by the events of 9-11. There are now almost daily media reports of greater activity at shooting ranges, gun shops and police departments, where residents of some states must apply for gun permits. Many of these newly active gun owners do not fit the rural right-wing male stereotype of the typical gun rights supporter. Some are not comfortable in what they perceive as the macho environment of shooting ranges and some have a negative perception of the NRA. This has prompted the formation of independent gun rights groups. One of these non-traditional groups is the Second Amendment Sisters, which advocates armed self-defense for women. They organize shooting events for women and their representatives now appear frequently in the media. College students have founded several new gun clubs at schools normally considered liberal and anti-gun. My contacts with some of these students indicate that they do not follow any particular political ideology. Some are distinctly liberal and wary of the NRA, no doubt the result of many years of NRA-bashing by the media. The group that creates the biggest problem for the NRA is called "Pink Pistols." This organization supports the firearms rights of sexual minorities and believes that: "Armed gays don't get bashed." It is growing rapidly, with chapters in 29 cities. Members of Pink Pistols have appeared before state legislative committees to testify against anti-gun bills and reports indicate that their opinions carry considerable weight with legislators who are not used to hearing pro-gun sentiments from this segment of society. Pink Pistols has drawn an amazing amount of media coverage for such a new organization. Local newspaper and radio reporters are fascinated with the concept of armed gays and usually give their stories a positive slant. They tend to downplay the fact that Pink Pistols welcomes not just gays, but anyone who self-identifies as a sexual minority and those who simply support sexual freedom. The leaders of the NRA are well aware of the growth of Pink Pistols and it presents them with something of a dilemma. On one hand, they are happy to see a traditionally anti-gun segment of the population swinging over to the pro-gun side. However, if they embrace this new group, they risk alienating some of their current members who actually do fit the right-wing stereotype. It is worth noting that some gun owners have abandoned the relatively moderate NRA and have moved on to more radical pro-gun organizations. Perhaps these are the same people who would be alienated by the inclusion of sexual minorities in the gun rights community. If so, the NRA has little to lose by supporting Pink Pistols. Although this problem is interesting, a look at the big picture shows consequences far beyond these two small demographic groups. Just a few decades ago, supporters of the Second Amendment included such Democratic stalwarts as John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey. Political maneuvering since their time has artificially placed the burden of defending firearms rights on conservative and Republican shoulders. The non-traditional pro-gun groups have the potential to end this unnatural situation and help form a broad societal consensus in favor of gun rights. An important tactical question is how this new development will impact the future growth of the NRA. The main factor limiting NRA membership is the negative image it has with many liberal-left and even centrist citizens. Reaching out to non-traditional groups is a powerful way to improve that image. A good example occurred when a co-worker of mine heard a public radio news reporter describe how several NRA-certified instructors were aiding the local Pink Pistols chapter. He was pleasantly surprised and commented, "If this keeps up, I'll have to change my opinion of the NRA." Rejecting the new groups would obviously reinforce the negative stereotype of the NRA. But reaching out too fast or providing too much assistance runs the risk of harming these organizations by making them appear as pawns. Much of their value lies in the fact that they are independent voices outside the much-maligned "gun lobby." A delicate balance is required and seems to be developing. Publicly, the NRA is ignoring Pink Pistols. Privately, they are friendly and cordial. Local NRA clubs and instructors are free to assist Pink Pistols groups and many are doing so. One Pink Pistols chapter even shoots regularly at the NRA headquarters range in Fairfax, Va. Success always creates new problems and offers opportunities for creative solutions. That is certainly proving true for the gun rights community. Dr. Michael S. Brown is an optometrist and member of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws, www.dsgl.org. E-mail: rkba2000@yahoo.com References: Second Amendment Sisters Pink Pistols National Rifle Association Reed College Shooting Society
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