Rand Paul: ‘I Want All Pilots to Be Armed’
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said in an interview with Fox News Wednesday that arming “100 percent” of American pilots is the most “cost-effective” way of preventing terrorist attacks similar to those that occurred on 9/11.
“I’m concerned about what is the most cost-effective way of preventing another 9/11: I want all pilots to be armed,” Paul said on the Fox News program “Hannity,” while discussing a bill to streamline pilots’ carry permit process. “The president has zeroed this out of his budget. He’s advocated for getting rid of the program. And when I talk to pilots, I’m at airports all the time, pilots come up to me all the time and say it’s too hard to get a permit and to keep up the permit.”
After the Sept. 11 attacks, the Transportation Security Administration, under the directive of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, developed the Federal Flight Deck Officer program (FFDO), permitting pilots of commercial airline flights to carry firearms.
Now, I could be wrong, but I don’t believe there’s been another 9/11 since, say, 9/11.
