(Stan-Fan) wrote:

But the question is - do you feel safer with TSA at the controls now
under the administration of the Federal government,

H#ll No.

or would you feel
safer with the screener operation at your local, or most used airport or
destination airport, under the control of the individual airport, and
airlines?

Neither does much for security. Consider this:

Supposed we removed the screening points completely and permitted everyone on
board to carry a handgun, knife or other defensive weapon. (And yes, I know that
defensive weapons can be offensive weapons. Don't be pedantic.) Along with this
would be very draconian penalties for discharge/use of said weapon in
circumstances other than an attempted takeover of the aircraft.

Consider the percentage of people in the world that actually are willing to die
hijacking an aircraft. Compare that to the percentage of law abiding citzens who
are willing to carry a weapon and use it in dire circumstances.

Neither number is very large, but I'd be willing to place good money that the
latter group is much larger than the former. Certainly there would be many more
armed citizens than there are armed sky marshalls.

Furthermore, I'd feel a whole lot safer in an aircraft in that circumstance than
I do today. I know if I were a terrorist, those odds would give me pause.

But then again, in a society that is constantly told it needs a government to
protect and provide for it...