[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 89 (Friday, June 28, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SUPPORTING H.R. 4635--ARMING PILOTS AGAINST TERRORISM ACT

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                           HON. JIM MATHESON

                                of utah

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 27, 2002

  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4635 the Arming 
Pilots Against Terrorism Act. This is a very sensible piece of 
legislation. We have a duty to provide pilots with the same tools shop 
keepers and mall security guards and others use in the protection of 
their property and the safety of their customers.
  As the events of the morning of September 11 unfolded, the President 
gave the Air Force the authority to shoot down any commercial airline 
that did not respond to authorities. For the first time in our history, 
the American military had the authority to take action against American 
civilians.
  That single horrible thought--that the United States government might 
have to use lethal force against American citizens who were unlucky 
enough to get on the wrong flight--should give us enough reason to pass 
this legislation.
  Pilots need a last line of defense. They need the ability to defend 
the plane, the cockpit, and most of all, the passengers. We need to 
give our pilots the same opportunity for self-defense our Constitution 
provides to everyone else.
  This is a good compromise. It is the product of good legislating 
workmanship by Chairman Young, Chairman Mica, and Congressmen Oberstar 
and Lipinski. It is an example that debates about the Second Amendment 
need not be filled with mischaracterized rhetoric, but rather be 
premised on what's good for the American people.

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