THE “NONMETALLIC KNIFE LOOPHOLE”

Now that terrorists have used plastic knives to take over airliners and smash them into skyscrapers, we have the Los Angeles Times decrying the “loophole” that still makes plastic and ceramic knives legal to possess–despite the fact that they can’t be detected by airport screeners.
Let’s think about this for a moment. What purposes do nonmetallic knives serve? Plenty. Nonmetallic blades don’t conduct electricity. Workers use nonmetallic tools, including knives, to insulate themselves from potential electric shock. Undercover police officers and federal agents carry them for protection against drug dealers and gangsters who use metal detectors.
Yet we have Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Security Board, issuing the idiotic statement, “There is no place in our society for a weapon like this.”
Hmm. Where have we heard this before? A useful tool of law-abiding individuals and law enforcement officers. People use these implements every day for self-defense, utility work, or undercover assignments. Yet a few criminals use them in a mass murder…and now people want to ban their manufacture, marketing, and sale. Does this sound familiar? It’s the same argument irrational hoplophobes* have made for years against guns–despite the mountain of evidence showing the benefits of an armed society.
Let’s not forget that last Saturday, the geniuses at the Los Angeles Times printed a photograph of a California National Guardsman standing guard at John Wayne Airport in Orange County–with an unloaded M-16 rifle! Maybe he had a bullet in his pocket.
So what happens when plastic knives can’t be bought or sold anymore? Terrorists wanting to hijack a plane have several options. They can fashion weapons out of just about anything that can take and hold an edge, like a credit card. They don’t even need to bring weapons onto the plane if they have help from the ground crew. Don’t forget that box cutters were found under the seat cushions of aircraft that were grounded after the September 11 attacks.
Banning nonmetallic knives won’t solve the problem. Arming flight crews and passengers will.
(* People who have an irrational fear of weapons, especially firearms, or a fear of armed citizens)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-101801knives.story