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| -Land of the Free |
| Schumer wants airline, airport workers screened for guns |
| 2015-01-08 |
| [BIGSTORY.AP.ORG] Sen. Chuck Schumer Senator-for-life from New York, renowned for his love of standing in front of cameras. Schumer has been a professional politician since 1975, when disco was in flower. on Wednesday called for daily federal screening of airport and airline workers for weapons following last month's arrests of five men accused of smuggling guns through the New York and Atlanta airports. The New York Democrat, joined in Washington by Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson, said he's asking the Transportation Security Administration to immediately require all U.S. airports to screen staff when they start work. "In this day and age of terrorism, rampant drug dealing and gun smuggling, we just can't be too careful," Schumer said. Currently, pilots and flight crews, as well as passengers, pass through the TSA metal detectors. But Schumer said many employees who work in the secure sections of airports are exempt. The Department of Homeland Security, which includes the TSA, said later Wednesday that Secretary Jeh Johnson shares those concerns and will go to the Atlanta airport Thursday to meet with TSA and airport stakeholders. The trip is intended "to help assess potential vulnerabilities related to site security at airports nationwide behind the sterile area," spokeswoman Marsha Catron said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #6 Yeah, just don't bother the "students" from places like Soddy Arabia, Chechnya and Yemen. |
| Posted by: Ebbang Uluque6305 2015-01-08 11:46 |
| #5 >But Schumer said many employees who work in the secure sections of airports are exempt. Then there's ZERO security. It really is just theatre. Every airside Airport staff member in the U.K. gets checked more thoroughly than passengers do. The TSA is a waste of space. |
| Posted by: Bright Pebbles 2015-01-08 10:09 |
| #4 But who will screen the screeners? |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2015-01-08 09:19 |
| #3 we just can't be too careful, Ahhh yes, the clarion call of tyrants everywhere. |
| Posted by: AlanC 2015-01-08 08:43 |
| #2 But Schumer said many employees who work in the secure sections of airports are exempt. And in Atlanta, which is the focus of the discussion [due to recent gun smuggling], many of these "exempt" persons are cut from a very specific bolt of cloth. We must be very careful about employment screening, background checks, and hiring restrictions, else we'll have no employees at all. The impacts on Affirmative Action could be devastating. |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2015-01-08 01:40 |
| #1 Schumer should be screened for cooties. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2015-01-08 00:32 |