Should TSA agents be armed?
 

Note: I kept this thread separate to focus on this specific question, and not the wider issue of the LAX incident which is already in the other thread.

In light of that LAX incident, one question has been raised, should TSA agents be armed? It would give them a chance of self-defense in situations like this. And they would'nt be so helpless and be able to defend themselves and others. However, would having a gun make that much of a difference in situations like this? In addition, would being armed make those power tripping TSA a.......s even more unpleasant than they already are? Yes, they aren't there to be your friend, but a modicum of respect for the passenger would'nt hurt either. ..

Hell, no.

No. Just about every airport I fly through has police at the checkpoint who are armed.

+1

:facepalm:

uh, no.

Should TSA agents be armed?
 

Definitely not. I can almost guarantee that armed TSA will hurt/kill more people that it saves.

Think about this... I'm not sure about the statistics, but I would be interested to know, of all the guns found BEHIND security, how many were from pax, and how many were from FAMs, LEOs, or armed pilots that accidentally left their weapon somewhere...

Not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin.

Should workers at McDonald's be given weapons?

Should school bus drivers be given guns?

Postal workers?

All of these have had assaults, murders and other stuff happen in the work place. I know of no way to totally eliminate violence in any of these locales. Arming workers would only lead to more killings, in my opinion.

Heck, I'd even go so far as to say that half the police officers who have guns now, might be better without them.

+2

:td::td:

Nope. Trained personnell that are armed should be stationed at all entrance and exits.

Aw, HELL NO!

No, unless they become police officers.

Not as police officers with powers of arrest - but everyone has an inherit right of self defense..

LAX dumped their police from their lines a couple months ago so my guess is they'll just bring them back..

Not now, not ever.

Their role is to prevent unauthorised items from entering the secure area. Not to introduce them.

Given their inherent rudeness, incompetence and outright arrogance most of them shouldn't even be employed in customer facing areas let alone in a position of authority.

+3. I would feel a whole lot less safe.

that would be more stupid than arming pilots. everybody should carry. remember deadwood?

Should TSA agents be armed?
 

Unless you have been in the armed service, you have NO idea the amount of red tape that comes along with putting weapons in people's hands. Not only is there training, maintenance, proficiency and other requirements and expenses, but you can't just give your gun to the next person on duty. There is a whole turnover process that has to be supervised.

In the navy, the on watch person would have to place the muzzle in this large can thing (incase of an accidental discharge) then the supervisor would read a step by step procedure about how to transfer the belt and holster, remove the magazine, eject the chambered round (using a special catch tool, of course, to prevent loss of the ejected round which also probably cost the nave $1000 to buy) and ultimately transfer the weapon. Huge PITA!

Redux on both words!!!

Given the 2 TSA agents whom I have known personally and the duties/responsibilities/displayed levels of cognizance of TSA agents whom I have encountered in the last 12(?) years.....NO!

Generally speaking, I'd be far more comfortable providing straight razors to 14 year old girls.

No. TSA agents are not LEOs, they have no arrest authority and are not authorized to use force.

Most airports have an airport division or at the very least have a LEO on site. Station a LEO at each checkpoint or give each TSA agent an alarm button that would alert the LEO to a problem.

what's a LEO?

i can recall heavily armed military in bygone times at muc,fra. fco.mxp. each person had an automatic weapon, and a big dog. the soldiers looked like kids to me, under 20 years old. probably were under 20. lots of armed military in cairo airport and all through the central american airports.

LEO=law enforcement officer.

TSA screening clerks in the main are not LEOs; nor should they be IMO.


^^

Having more TSA employees armed is unnecessary and counterproductive. They should focus on contraband WEI interdiction and stop with the rest of the useless dog and pony show that wastes resources.

There are enough armed LEOs, especially at LAX which has a very large airport police force -- some say it is the largest in the country.

but quite surprisingly, very few navy guys shoot other navy guys. i have also noticed that a very high percentage of the marines stationed at the barracks in southwest dc are now carrying sidearms(over a hundred of them) i doubt they go through that exerise you have described when they hang up their gun. i do not often have an opportunity to talk to one of those guys.

The flip side of that is if there is greater scrutiny and training for armed personnel, the general quality of the TSA might go up, and you'll get less of those surly but useless morons who could'nt get any other job sign up for the TSA...

But yeah, that will never happen. The expense and bureaucracy involved is too great...

+1000

I'm scared enough and I really don't need to be groped by someone with a gun

Most TSA's officers carry too much weight now,

I would feel very threatened if TSA agents were armed.

NFW!

(No Freakin' Way)

TSA employees should be removed from our airports and TSA dismantled, rendering the original question moot.

Just because one or two people got killed it doesn't mean you should arm many thousands "officers". You either make a national gun control reform (never gonna happen, too many idiots and no bold politicians who are willing to take a stand, unlike in Australia), or you face the risk of this happening again, which is not greater than getting killed in road traffic.

(bolding mine)

I'd like to see some evidence. It doesn't appear to be playing out that way with police across the country, particularly the full-on SWAT teams serving warrants for non-violent offenders at the wrong addresses at 0200 or firing on two women delivering papers in a car that didn't even fit the description of the offender's vehicle (wrong color, make, no plate check before firing). Plenty of scrutiny and training, little or no accountability, more mistakes and innocent people killed.

No thanks.

No. We should keep calm and carry on.

Should TSA agents be armed?
 

No. They should be unemployed. Then we can hire actual security professionals who focus on actual security threats and not the illusion of security theater.

Me too. In fact i'd most likely avoid the USA altogether.

The mentality the TSA promotes and the type of person it employs are such that arming them would be a disaster. Quite apart from the potential for TSA weapons to find their way airside with horrific consequences. I don't think having armed personnel at checkpoints is unraesonable, especially not in such a heavily armed nation as the USA, but they need to be trained, reliable professionals.

No. But public school teachers should be.

I don't trust them unarmed. Why should I trust them with a gun?

1. Some people when you give them guns become power mongers... do we need more of that?

2. They are unionized, in the event of salary arbitration they can seek Federal peace officer wages - they are overpaid as is and that would amount to a big pay raise for them.

Should TSA agents be armed?
 

The American people will never allow it. They should but this country has become so liberal.

Absolutely not.

Yes, pretty much. It would make the job even more appealing to wannabe LEOs who, for whatever reason, aren't qualified for actual LEO jobs. I have, on occasion, met TSA employees who were pleasant, helpful, and possessed of common sense (at least one of whom was working on a degree to do something else--I suspect most, if not all of the good ones cycle out). If we must have this agency, we need more of this group. I suspect adding weapons would make the job even less appealing to them.

Absolutely not. At least not until the qualification standards and training are overhauled significantly. Right now, it would be like the person who mans the drive thru window carrying a gun.

You are impugning the fine men, women, and teens who work at drive-thrus by your comparison.