Taurus offers 2,000 handguns to pilots - Industry News

Shooting Industry, Jan, 2002

Taurus International is offering to outfit airline pilots with free handguns to provide a deterrent to hijackers. The company announced the offer Nov. 16, the day congressional lawmakers approved a provision allowing airline pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit.

"This is great news and I hope that airlines move quickly to allow their pilots to carry firearms in the cockpit," said Bob Morrison, executive vice president of Taurus. "Just the thought of having armed pilots on an aircraft would be a tremendous deterrent to anyone thinking about hijacking an airliner.

"If trouble arises on a flight, pilots would be able to defend themselves and their passengers. We at Taurus have offered to provide firearms at no charge to pilots who choose to carry firearms on flights and have passed the necessary safety and training requirements."

Morrison said Taurus has offered 1,000 handguns to the two major pilots groups, the Allied Pilots Association and the Air Line Pilots Association. The cost of the 2,000 handguns, depending on the model selected, would run between $250,000 and $500,000, according to Morrison.

"The guns will have special serial numbers to provide traceability if anything happens, to them," Morrison said. "We're offering the pilots our CIA model, but will give them anything they'd like to carry."

While the offer was made in mid-November, Morrison said the company had been working with Congress for weeks on the offer.

"Every Senator had the proposal before the vote, because the big question when any new, law is passed is 'who is going to pay for it?'" Morrision said. "The fact that the guns were already paid for seems to have helped pass the bill 100 to nothing."

The idea to supply airline pilots came after Taurus employees asked what they could do following the September 11 terrorist attack.

"Our employees wanted to do sometime to help," Morrison said. "When we proposed this to Mr. (Carlos) Murgel in Brazil (Taurus' president and CEO), he didn't hesitate a second. He said, 'I would be proud to give the pilots our firearms.'"

Morrison is encouraging other manufacturers to, consider similar programs.

"This is not a Taurus exclusive. I sure hope we're not, the only company in the firearms industry to do this," Morrison said.