Arming Commercial Pilots. This bill (H.R. 4635) would "establish a program to deputize volunteer pilots of air carriers providing air transportation or intrastate air transportation as federal law enforcement officers to defend the flight decks of aircraft of such air carriers against acts of criminal violence or air piracy." The Transportation Security Agency (TSA) would be required to begin this program within two months after enactment of this bill. Only pilots who volunteer for this program would be trained and deputized to carry guns aboard airlines. The TSA would provide all training, supervision, and equipment necessary for a pilot to be a federal flight deck officer under this section at no expense to the pilot or the air carrier employing the pilot.
The House passed H.R. 4635 on July 10, 2002 by a vote of 310 to 113 (Roll Call 292). We have assigned pluses to the yeas.
