Should Knives Be Allowed on Planes?
Small knives will be among the items air travelers will be allowed to bring in carry-on luggage under new TSA rules taking effect next month. Tell us if you agree with the changes.
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Airline passengers will soon be allowed to bring small knives and some sporting equipment in their carry-on bags—if they meet Transportation Security Administration guidelines.
Beginning April 25, small knives will be allowed in carry-on luggage if their blades are less than 2.36 inches or 6 centimeters in length; a blade’s width must also be one half inch or less. But knives with locking or fixed blades or molded grips, as well as box cutters and razors, will remain on the list of prohibited items. More details on these changes can be found here.
Some sporting equipment items also will be allowed under the new changes, including small novelty or toy bats, billiard cues, hockey sticks and golf clubs. The complete list of changes related to sporting equipment can be found here.
A complete list of items prohibited by the TSA can be found here.
While travelers may feel some relief under the eased rules, some have said they’re a bit uneasy about the incoming changes. According to the Associated Press, Transport Workers Union Local 556, which represents more than 10,000 flight attendants with Southwest Airlines, referred to the changes as “dangerous” and “shortsighted.” The AP also reported that the changes have drawn the ire of several family members of victims who died during the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2011.
TSA officials say the policy changes align American standards with those used elsewhere, and will allow the agency to focus on greater threats to safety.
Do you agree with the TSA’s changes concerning small knives? What about its allowance to bring sporting equipment in carry-on luggage?
Share what’s on your mind with us, and then return here to see what your neighbors in Cobb, Douglas and Paulding counties have said.
Mickey
8:18 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Are they crazy, No way
Mickey
8:18 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
What are they crazy
L A Hays
8:30 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
What's the purpose of making the change? To open the bag of peanuts? It sounds like the camel is sticking his nose under the tent.
Henry L Lust
9:15 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
Absolutely NOT!
Jay
9:19 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
So, if they weren't looking for these 6cm knives they would have found the pants bomb that made it through security recently.
Greg T
9:31 am on Friday, March 8, 2013
I agree with allowing small folding pocket knives.
JamesMichael
10:23 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Consider cleaning your fingernails and picking your teeth prior to leaving for the airport.
Larry H
3:19 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
When I was young almost everyone carried a pocket knife almost everywhere. It was a tool, not a weapon. I still carry one everyday and have to remember to put it away before going places where it's off limits. We must stop letting criminals set the rules. Things have changed over those 60 plus years, but good people are still good people. Quit annoying us with bans and restrictions and go after criminals.
Lee
6:26 pm on Friday, March 8, 2013
I've lost a few very good, useful pocket knives because I forgot to put them in my checked baggage, if I had any, or left them home. I started carrying them from my scouting day, throughout my service in the military, and more than once used it when something needed to be opened or screwed tighter or looser. The general populace for endless generations have carried knives for their usefulness. Telling me I can't carry one because some nut wants to hijack or blow up a plane or train or bus is ridiculous. Why do I, a law-abiding, tax paying citizen in a "free country" have to be made a prisoner with limited rights when I travel?
As for sporting goods, if you're a professional, you already know how to pack your equipment safely. There are not a lot of places that full sized billiard cues, hockey sticks and golf clubs will fit on an airplane. Pack it securely and check it, or mail it ahead. Most people already have too much carry on that ought to be checked anyway.
JamesMichael
4:31 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
"Why do I, a law-abiding, tax paying citizen in a "free country" have to be made a prisoner with limited rights when I travel? "
...because not everyone is as wonderful as you are.
Marlene Mitchell
8:11 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
JamesMichael,
You are right...not everyone is as wonderful as Lee. That is one reason I'd like to have him on my flight and not you.
People are coming on planes with all sorts of "banned items" because our security sucks. Putting things in your checked baggage has a better chance of getting stolen than getting caught with it on you.
Pam J
10:03 am on Saturday, March 9, 2013
Didn't one of the 9/11 hijackers use a box cutter?
Roger N
11:02 am on Monday, March 11, 2013
Yes, and they are still prohibited.
JamesMichael
2:55 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
@Roger et al
It went largely unreported that the 9/11 creeps slit the eyeballs of the flight attendants so as to render them unable to respond.
Pam J
6:11 pm on Monday, March 11, 2013
Well, are box cutters more dangerous than some of the knives they are going to let on planes? Slit or stab, you can still injure or kill someone. But then again, laptops are allowed on planes and you could bash someone over the head with one of those things too.
Chris Long
4:44 pm on Saturday, March 9, 2013
Check the TSA's prohibited items page & you'll see that this really is no surprise, & no real difference from what is already allowed. Proof positive that these are just arbitrary policies designed to give a facade of protection...not real protection.
I just left a job in December that involved a fair amount of travel (at least 2 trips per month for 4.5 years), and b/c I traveled w/tools at times, I had to be up on what could be checked & carried-on. I was shocked when I found that the TSA allows you to bring the following items on planes now (& has for years):
-- "Screwdrivers (seven inches or less in length)"
-- "Wrenches and Pliers (seven inches or less in length)"
-- "Common (non-torch) Lighters"
-- "Scissors - metal with pointed tips and blades shorter than 4 inches are allowed, but blades longer than 4 inches are prohibited"
Considering that the 9/11 hijackers used box cutters & the threat of a bomb (no actual bomb, just the threat of one), and the only 2 incidents since have involved people trying to light their underwear/shoe bombs, why would the TSA allow these items? B/c this is all a farce, that's why. But hey, we have the appearance of protection, & we created a bunch of new jobs, right?
Marlene Mitchell
9:17 am on Sunday, March 10, 2013
A whole bunch of new jobs!!!!! Government at its best/worst. :(