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Name:
Location: Nashville, Tennessee, United States

8/12/2002

Trip Notes
Saw G. Gordon Liddy in the Baltimore airport. Shook his hand. So did many others. Sat next to a Southwest Airlines pilot on the flight home - he is based out of Baltimore but lives in Nashville and shuttles to and from Baltimore on Southwest, of course. I asked him if he thinks pilots should be allowed to carry guns. Yes, he said, adding that most Southwest pilots and many commercial pilots in general have a military background and are trained to handle weapons. The pilot - first initial J - once flew medical choppers and a spy plane for the U.S. Army, and said he'd like to have the option to have a gun to use against terrorists. Without armed pilots, he said, the next step after a terrorist take-over of the cockpit is being shot down by an F-16. We put our lives in the hands of men like him every day when we fly. There's no good reason not to trust them to protect our lives with a gun if necessary. Let the pilots go armed now!