Bill Text: NJ ACR191 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Transportation Safety Administration to permanently prohibit knives in passenger compartment of airplanes.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-05-20 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Homeland Security and State Preparedness Committee [ACR191 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-ACR191-Introduced.html
ASSEMBLY CONCURRENT RESOLUTION No. 191
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
215th LEGISLATURE
INTRODUCED MAY 20, 2013
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman LINDA STENDER
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Urges Transportation Safety Administration to permanently prohibit knives in passenger compartment of airplanes.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Concurrent Resolution urging the Transportation Safety Administration to permanently prohibit knives in the passenger compartment of commercial aircraft.
Whereas, On September 11, 2001, members of the Al-Qaeda terror organization hijacked several commercial aircraft, using knives and box cutters to overtake the passengers and the crew to gain control of the airplanes; and
Whereas, The terrorists used the airplanes as weapons to attack the World Trade Center and the Pentagon by flying the airplanes into the buildings, destroying the Twin Towers and severely damaging the Pentagon; and
Whereas, With 677 New Jersey residents among the nearly 3,000 people who died, the attacks on September 11th were the most tragic terror attacks the country and the State of New Jersey has ever known; and
Whereas, In response to those acts of terror, Congress passed the "Aviation and Transportation Security Act," which created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to secure the commercial aviation system and to ensure the safety of the passengers who utilize commercial airlines; and
Whereas, To ensure the safety of commercial aircraft passengers, TSA created a list of prohibited items, which included knives, razor blades, and box cutters similar to those used in the attack on September 11th; and
Whereas, Since 2001, the changes to American aviation security standards have thwarted terrorists seeking to use commercial aircraft as weapons of mass destruction and have raised international aviation security standards throughout the world; and
Whereas, On March 5, 2013, contrary to the concerns expressed by flight attendants, Federal Air Marshals, and members of Congress concerning the increased risk to the safety of passengers and flight attendants, TSA officials proposed reversing the decade-long policy of prohibiting knives and some sports equipment in the passenger compartment of airplanes; and
Whereas, The TSA Administrator cited the need to give priority to improving the ability of the agency to detect explosives on commercial aircraft as one of the reasons for the reversal of the policy; and
Whereas, With terrorist groups focused on attacking the nation and the commercial aviation system with any available means, the reversal of the long-standing policy has the potential to threaten the security of the nation and the 1.8 million air passengers that travel each day; and
Whereas, Although TSA has temporarily delayed the implementation of the new policy that would allow knives to be carried onto airplanes, TSA must permanently return to its original policy of banning these items from the passenger compartment of commercial aircraft to protect the safety and welfare of travelers as well as the rest of the nation; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey (the Senate concurring):
1. The Transportation Security Administration is urged to permanently prohibit knives in the passenger compartment of commercial aircraft.
2. Duly authenticated copies of this resolution, signed by the Speaker of the General Assembly and President of the Senate and attested to by the Clerk of the General Assembly and Secretary of the Senate, shall be transmitted to the President of the United States, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, and the Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration.
STATEMENT
This resolution urges the Transportation Security Administration to permanently prohibit knives in the passenger compartment of commercial aircraft.
In response to the terror attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, that killed 3,000 people with the use of commercial aircraft, Congress passed the "Aviation and Transportation Security Act" and the created Transportation Security Administration (TSA). To ensure the safety of commercial aircraft passengers, the TSA prohibited passengers from carrying on items such as knives, razor blades, and box cutters similar to those used by the airplane hijackers on September 11th. Since 2001, the changes to the American aviation security standards have thwarted terrorists and raised international aviation security standards worldwide. Yet, contrary to the concerns expressed by the aviation community concerning the increased safety risks, TSA officials have proposed reversing the policy of prohibiting knives on airplanes, citing the need to give priority attention to explosive detection.
With terrorist groups focused on attacking the nation using any means available, the reversal of the policy has the potential to threaten the security of the travelers and the nation. Although TSA has temporarily delayed the implementation of the new policy, TSA must permanently return to its original policy of banning knives in airplanes to ensure the security of the commercial aviation system.
