I happened to catch a segment on Fox News a few minutes ago that said the Logan Airport (Boston) police were training to begin carrying MP5s beginning as early as next month. Showed a group of officers training at an outdoor range with MP5-SDs, though Fox didn't say which variant would be used. Either way, I wouldn't mind. It'd be more like the Frankfurt airport or any number of other foreign terminals. What do you think? [:)]

i feel so much safer now.

in 1975, all of europe was awash with caribinieri, gendarmes, poleizi and stasi (pardon my poor euro-spelling) toting machineguns in airports, train stations, government buildings.

i got used them.

It's retarded and won't deter anything.  It's simply a perception issue.  

I don't mind security, but this rediculous.  What's next, sandbagged entrances.  

Don't approve of it just because you think the gun is cool.

Pretty fucking moronic if you actually sit and think about it objectively. What problem is this going to solve?

Yes, the weapon is cool, but it's easier to get hits with pretty much any good subgun than with a handgun, in my limited experience anyway. Greater hit probability means more effective use of fire, right? That should be more reassuring than seeing cops who probably can't hit what they shoot at with handguns, especially under stress. Of course, if they begin to develop some sort of elitist attitude while carrying a subgun, that's another matter.

Remember, that we're talking about Airport Security and not CQB.  There has not been a rash of airport combat breaking out across the US.  There was that one guy in LA, but he was managed without the use of military equipment.  Look, if there was a threat posed by terrorists desiring to "take" airports, I'd think differently, but that's not happening.  To a terrorist, an airport is something to navigate through, not storm.

A MP5 toting airport security guard is simply a pretty picture.

I couldn't agree more.  It seems to me that they're reinforcing a nonexistant hole.  The odds of someone sneaking a gun through security don't change because the guards have bigger gun.  This is something I could understand at, say, an Israeli or Lebanese airport, but I don't think there's much risk of an armed assault here.  Of course, I don't even play a security expert on TV.

DING DING .. we have a winner!

thats all it is..

and its  a  chance for the cops to play Army.. thats what they wanna be like < seems they do it more for the "cool" I have a mask and a tactical __________  and you dont...... > seems they have a proplem with the fact that they < cops> are still civilians.

What ever makes Suzy soccer mom "FEEL" secure enough to re-elect what ever yahoo is in office now is the bottom line..
:
"makes the streets safe?  no way man .. if I do what platform will I run oin next ellection..."

or :

"Make the streets safe? ... No way man ... what fears will I have to play off on next election if I do that .. ?  "

[devil's advocate]
While I'm not sure I approve of the decision yet, I do know that a pretty picture can be a deterrent.  Ask anyone who's had to flash or draw in the prevention of an incident without needing to pull the trigger.

While I don't think the airports are going to be a focused target, if the overall perception is of higher risk perhaps the purpose is served?  If all squad cars had a tactical carbine as well as the standard pump shotgun, would that be a deterrent as well?  I don't know but sometimes it's worth it just in case.
[/devil's advocate]

I can't believe it!  Friggin cops!  What gives them the right to have better guns than me?  They don't know how to use them!  All cops are anti-gun!  They can't protect us, only we can protect ourselves!  They're coming to take OUR guns away!  Today maybe!  They're not trained at all!  They're stupid!  They give out tickets then drive fast with no lights or siren on!  What gives them the right?  I saw a cop having a lunch break!  Can you believe it?  I saw a cop drink a beer once!  One time a cop came to my house at 3am & told me to make the band stop playing at my drug party!  Bastards! It's the them vs us attitude!  They're civilians & I'm not because I was a cub scout!

Ok....  Did I leave anything out or did I cover it all for the paranoid anti-cop tin foil hat wearing crowd that got too many well deserved tickets in their short lives?




 

Please, never forget, so-called airport security confiscates 3" plastic toy guns and makes nursing mothers test their own breast milk.  

We are dealing with government and bureaucracy at its finest.  

Decaf...