Senate votes to allow guns on amtrak

[Fetus]

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/poli...y/1236484.html

ASHINGTON -- The Senate voted Wednesday to permit passengers on the Amtrak passenger railroad to transport handguns in their checked baggage.

The proposal, approved by a 68-30 vote, seeks to give Amtrak riders rights comparable to those enjoyed by airline passengers, who are permitted to transport firearms provided that they declare they are doing so and that the arms are unloaded and in a securely locked container.

"Americans should not have their second amendment rights restricted for any reason, particularly if they choose to travel on America's federally subsidized rail line," said Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., who made the proposal.

Wicker's amendment would deny the money-losing railroad its $1.6 billion taxpayer subsidy unless it changes the gun policy.

Current Amtrak policy, put in place after the bombings of passenger trains in Madrid five years ago, prohibits weapons, including firearms, from being carried on its trains.

Prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Amtrak permitted firearms to be carried on its trains so long as they were separately secured in locked baggage or carrying cases. But it added restrictions on carrying weapons after 9/11 and imposed a total ban on all weapons after the Madrid bombings.

Opponents of changing the policy back, such as Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., say it would be too costly and burdensome to return to the old policy. Durbin said that "Amtrak doesn't have the security infrastructure, the processes or the trained personnel in place to ensure that checked firearms would not be lost, damaged, stolen or misused."

The chief author of the underlying transportation appropriations bill, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said implementing the policy would be too costly.

"Amtrak would have six months to build a process for checking and tracking firearms. It would have to find the manpower necessary to screen and guard firearms and it would have to purchase the equipment necessary," Murray said. "If they do not comply, Amtrak will shut down."

Wednesday's vote was the latest in a string of victories for gun rights activists in the Senate despite Democrats' sizable majority. Some 27 Democrats, including Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada, voted for the amendment, many from western or southern states.

The legislation still must be reconciled with a House-passed measure than does not contain the gun rights provision.

[dc dalton]

About damn time!

Now watch the antis start screaming about how trains are going to be unsafe to ride, just like national parks will be unsafe to go to next year.

[archangel689]

provided that they declare they are doing so and that the arms are unloaded and in a securely locked container.



what the use is that????

[ehidle]

provided that they declare they are doing so and that the arms are unloaded and in a securely locked container.



what the use is that????

It gets gun owners to possibly spend money with the government-owned (for all intents and purposes) rail system for transportation rather than the evil capitalist greed-mongering corporation-owned airlines.

Remember, regular folks take publicly-owned ground transportation. Evil greedy rich people take airplanes.

[cigarmanpa]

provided that they declare they are doing so and that the arms are unloaded and in a securely locked container.



what the use is that????

same as it is on a plane. I prefer to travel by train and now I can do so and be armed when I get to my destination...just as if I flew there

[ham385]

Yes, but why didn't they vote to allow you to be armed in transit if it's legal for you to be, from your station of departure to your destination.

Seriously, a train is hardly comparable to a plane, which is up in the sky, isolated from law enforcement, and quite possibly hazardous (i know, i saw the mythbusters too) to the whole plane if someone were to discharge a firearm.

They claim they don't have the manpower to track checked firearms but they have the manpower to have enough security to ensure my safety? I haven't ridden a train for years, is security as tight as the airlines?

[Kenshin]

Yep its because your gonna hijack a train and take it and run it into a building.

[mojo]

Baby steps ... baby steps. That's how they are trying to take our gun rights away. We can do the same thing. First, we can transport ... then carry. Any step in the right direction is a good step.

[RJT]

They claim they don't have the manpower to track checked firearms but they have the manpower to have enough security to ensure my safety? I haven't ridden a train for years, is security as tight as the airlines?

LMAO what security? I rode amtrak last year. You take checked baggage to the counter where they put a tag on it for the train and destination, then they throw it on a cart with the other checked baggage. There's certain limitations for size and number, but you can carry on anything you want and they don't even look at it. You can enter and leave the station at any time, when the train stops at stations between where you start/finish they let people onto the platform to smoke (can't smoke on the train)

BTW, the trip away from Pittsburgh was about 6-8 hrs behind schedule (I ended up missing a connection because of it and had to wait for 4 hrs for the next one) and the return trip left on time but arrived about 4-5 hrs late...not that I'm surprised since they're gov trains

it's bs that they can't handle transporting them in luggage...make one guy responsible for loading and securing the luggage that contains the firearm, throw in some video surveillance, and viola! it's secure...if they can ship guns in packages between FFL's then i would hope that they can manage to ship them on a train as luggage, a LOT less people handle luggage than handle packages

the only thing that would worry me about shipping a gun on amtrak is that Chicago is the main hub of amtrak...

[kunsunoke]

same as it is on a plane. I prefer to travel by train and now I can do so and be armed when I get to my destination...just as if I flew there

Here's an idea - maybe, instead of continuing to violate our 2nd Amendment Right to carry, our Government could get the fuck out of our way so we can carry concealed (or, better yet, openly) on trains, or planes for that matter.

Much better idea. Those folks who died on 09/11/01 might still have been here, had our Government not stripped us of those rights.