The NRA has called for missiles on passenger jets, following the downing of Malaysia Flight 17 in Ukraine by a surface-to-air missile.
In an interview on Fox News the morning, NRA President Wayne La Pierre said the crash highlighted the danger of flying in unarmed civilian aircraft and demanded airlines immediately install air-to-surface missiles on all passenger planes.
“I know the left is gonna crucify me for this,” he told Fox and Friends’ Steve Doocy, “but the only thing that stops a bad guy with a missile is a good guy with a missile.
“I mean is it any surprise that terrorists are targeting these defenseless passenger planes? They don’t have any weapons on board at all!
“If you put a couple of 1,000 pound Tomahawk warheads under the wings, I firmly believe that pro-Russian separatists or whoever else would think twice before messing with that aircraft.”
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur crashed near the Ukrainian/Russian border yesterday after being struck by a missile. Nearly 300 passengers are believed to have died, including 154 from the Netherlands, 43 from Malaysia and 27 from Australia.
Ukraine and the United States believe that the missile was fired by pro-Russian rebels, possibly using weaponry obtained from Russia. The rebels have been at war with the central government in Kiev for months and control large swaths of eastern Ukraine.
“I think it’s a great idea,” says NRA member Travis Platt. “Obviously the only way to stop a hijacking is to allow law-abiding citizens to carry handguns on planes. But handguns won’t do much good against a missile.”
Airlines around the world, however, are reacting to the proposal with skepticism.
“It is technically possible to attach missiles to passenger aircraft,” says a spokesman of the International Air Transport Association. “However, it would also be enormously expensive, with each of those missiles costing millions of dollars.
“In addition to the direct costs, the risk of accidental discharge and civilian casualties outweighs any benefit the missiles would confer. Rather than arming everyone to the teeth, it might be better to try to solve the underlying conflict.”
