Armed pilots will make flights safer

So now it's official: At least some airline pilots will be armed.

That news is the result of an overwhelming 87-6 vote in the U.S. Senate to allow commercial pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit. The vote came after the Bush administration dropped its official opposition to the idea. Even anti-gun senators such as California's Barbara Boxer voted for it.

The House of Representatives had earlier voted overwhelmingly in favor as well.

The mystery is why the Bush administration had ever wasted any time opposing so sensible a measure. It had long been apparent, in every survey taken on the matter, that Americans overwhelmingly backed arming the pilots.

Americans know, as their elected representatives came to understand, that many (perhaps most) pilots are former military officers who have plenty of firearms training.

Against this lopsided public support and that of our lawmakers, there is the united opposition of the heads of 21 airlines. They sent letters to senators opposing the measure. Now they will have to find ways to implement the intent of the new legislation, which is aimed at preventing cockpit takeovers of airplanes in flight.

Safety and logistical issues remain. The Bush administration wants to institute requirements that only pilots who volunteer and who undergo extensive training can be armed. Fair enough.

It is worth noting as well that, using current technology, bullets exist that wouldn't pierce the skin of the aircraft but are still sufficiently damaging to make for a terrorist's very worst day.

The vast majority of Americans know that if pilots had been armed on the deadly morning of Sept. 11, 2001, the fates of at least one of the four planeloads of innocent Americans would likely have been different.

At the very least armed pilots would have complicated the task and planning of the deadly terrorists on their cruel errands, increasing the odds of survival for travelers and innocents on the ground.

Let's get on with working through the safety and logistical issues. This new legislation removes from would-be terrorists the guarantee they currently enjoy of an unarmed and defenseless pilot and co-pilot.