Pilots with guns

I read a very interesting scribe by a Northwest Airlines Captain, in it he describes his opinions on arming pilots and Sky Marshals.

With personal permission from the writer and website owner, I link you to the article: Read the article here Its the first article entitled “Sky Sheriff or Pistol Packin’ Pilot?”

Here is a small snippet

The question begs to be offered…why give a professional airline pilot a weapon? To be more specific, why issue them (and train them to use) a semi-automatic, large caliber pistol capable of death and destruction. The answer is obvious, and anyone that was a member of the human race on a sunny blue Tuesday morning a few years ago, already knows it.

But a gun? Why not just ensure that Federal Air Marshals are along on every flight? Again, the answer is obvious (to me at least). I truly wish that could happen, and they do accompany my crew and me on many flights, but they simply can’t be on every passenger or cargo jet (or turboprop) that leaves the ground…it just can’t be done.

So, I ask you all for your opinions. Do you agree or disagree or a bit of both? Please no one liner replies, give a good reason for your opinion. Lets make this an interesting thread 🙂