Not Overreacting To The Ft. Lauderdale Shooting

Ft. Lauderdale International Airport

by Dr. Jack Sternberg, Contributing Author: On Friday, January 6, 2017 there was another shooting rampage. This one was at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. A single shooter was responsible. It was not the rifle but the shooter who is to blame.

The shooter allegedly flew from Alaska to Ft. Lauderdale. He had legally checked his gun and ammunition with the appropriate authorities. He did not have access to his gun or ammunition during the flight. Taking a gun on a plane is legal, if the passenger brings the weapon in a case that locks and checks the suitcase containing the gun. The gun is not with the passenger on the airplane. The gun cannot be loaded in its locked box, though regulations allow travelers who fill out a declaration form to also bring ammunition. This is done hundreds of times daily throughout the country.

A good friend of mine, a deputy sheriff, does this checking of his service semi-automatic pistol every time he flies on a vacation. My good friend and hunting buddy who lives out of state but hunts with me in Arkansas, each year legally checks his rifle and ammunition with the airline. In essence, he brings his own equipment.

This shooter went to the baggage claim area after arriving. This area is outside of the secure area. He then took his gun and ammunition to a bathroom; loaded it up and then emerged on a shooting spree.

I anticipate that the media and some politicians will now want to change the law concerning transportation of firearms on airplanes despite the fact that there has never been a similar problem before.

But, please let me explain why this is ridiculous.

First, the baggage area of every airport is not secured. It would have been easier for a shooter to just drive up to the arrival baggage area, jump out of his car or taxi with a rifle or gun and run into the building and start shooting. Why take an airplane to get to the baggage area?

Equally unsecured is the departing area or ticketing area at every airport. Again, anyone can just pull up and jump out of their car and be inside the building in seconds. Hundreds of people are standing around and all are unarmed.

In March 2016, just that happened in Brussels, Belgium, except they used bombs. The same happened recently in Turkey.

Some might say, let’s not let anyone in the arrival or departing areas or the buildings until they are screened curbside. Let everyone stand outside until we know they don’t have weapons. So, now hundreds of people are standing outside all grouped up. Has anyone ever heard of a drive by shooting? That would really make it easy for a deranged person or a terrorist to kill many people and then speed off in their car.

Bottom line is that there really is no way to 100% protect people from those who want to kill and maim, especially if they don’t care if they die during their heinous act. This has now become just a fact of life.

Please, let’s not overreact to what happened today by changing a perfectly good law. The law isn’t the problem. The firearm isn’t the problem. The shooter who ignores the law and wants to kill innocent people is the problem. It is impossible to find and detect all such individuals and that’s an unfortunate fact.
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Jack Sternberg, MD, is a retired medical doctor and former Chairman of the Garland County TEA Party Patriots in Arkansas, and a contributor to the ARRA News Service.

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