WASHINGTON -- The Violence Policy Center (VPC) today harshly criticized the Bush Administration's policy reversal that will allow commercial airline pilots to carry firearms. The VPC has vigorously opposed administrative proposals as well as legislation to allow pilots to carry and use handguns on airliners.

"Unfortunately, America seems doomed to find out the hard way that guns do not belong on passenger jets," says VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand.

Rand points to a laundry list of statistics that clearly demonstrate the serious public safety hazard that handguns will present when introduced into the close confines of an airplane cabin or cockpit.

"Expecting a pilot who is already engaged in flying an airplane to be able to effectively defend against a hijacker is a scenario rife with potentially disastrous consequences. Highly trained police officers -- whose only job is law enforcement -- all too often fail to use firearms successfully," adds Rand.

One study found that 21 percent of officers killed with a handgun were shot with their own service weapon. Trained law enforcement officials have only an 18 to 22 percent hit ratio in armed confrontations. Moreover, the close quarters of an airplane cabin or cockpit will hinder -- not help -- pilots attempting to use guns to stop terrorists. From to , nearly 75 percent of police officers feloniously killed by suspects died within a 10-foot radius of the offender. This area is known as "the killing zone" because of the acute danger it represents to police officers.

Ensuring that firearms are not lost or stolen will be a huge problem for pilots and airlines. Even federal law enforcement agencies have guns stolen that are later used in crime. Between October and August , law enforcement agencies under the U.S. Department of Justice's jurisdiction, including the FBI, reported 775 firearms missing or stolen. Some missing guns were used to commit armed robberies.

Rand concluded, "Although we are disappointed by the Administration's decision to arm pilots, we are not surprised. Since 9/11 the gun lobby has been obsessed with putting guns on planes, and the gun lobby inevitably gets its way in the Bush White House."

The Violence Policy Center is a national non-profit educational organization working to stop gun death and injury in America.

Source: PRNewswire