NEWS RELEASE

Citizens Committee for the
Right to Keep and Bear Arms
12500 N.E. Tenth Place
Bellevue, WA  98005

CCRKBA BLASTS ANTI-GUN TSA BIGOTRY; BACKS PROPOSED COCKPIT SECURITY TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS ACT

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2004

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms today announced support for the proposed Cockpit Security Technical Corrections and Improvements Act, according to CCRKBA Public Affairs Director John Michael Snyder.

"Ever since the militant Islamic terrorist attacks of 9-11," Snyder stated, "we have supported the arming of qualified commercial airline pilots for the protection of themselves, their crews, their passengers and their planes. We have endorsed specifically the armed pilots program since it first was proposed in Congress, through its passage by both Houses of Congress, and signing into law by the President, only to see it thwarted by anti-gun bigotry on the part of the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)."

"The attitude on the part of TSA officials in this regard truly is incredible," Snyder said. "What is the matter with these bureaucrats? Don’t they realize we are at war with people who will stop at nothing to murder as many Americans as they can and destroy as many planes as they can? Our pilots ought to be armed and the anti-gun bigots in the TSA should have their heads examined for working to prevent them from being armed. Regardless of what the TSA says, there’s nothing quite like a handgun for self-defense. Our pilots ought to be able to have them in the cockpit. They very well may need them."

Snyder said the proposed Cockpit Security Technical Corrections and Improvements Act "will rectify TSA foot-dragging regarding the armed pilots program by taking its implementation largely out of TSA hands. These anti-gun bureaucrats should have their wings clipped, and this bill really should trim them down."

"We commend Sen. Jim Bunning of Kentucky and Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina for taking the lead in introducing identical versions of the proposed measure in the Senate and the House of Representatives," he added. "We also commend the many original co-sponsors of the proposal. Along with various airline pilot organizations, we seek its enactment into law at the earliest possible opportunity."

With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation's premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to www@ccrkba.org.

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