"California measure targets airport security"

Saturday, May 25, 2002

Measure targets airport security 
By Ian Gregor 
THE TORRANCE (CA) DAILY BREEZE 


Responding to incidents in March and April that forced terminal
evacuations at Los Angeles International Airport, a state senator
announced Tuesday he will carry a bill to outlaw bringing firearms parts
and imitation weapons to airports.

Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, wants to make it a misdemeanor to bring
handgun frames, firearm parts and imitation firearms and weapons into
California airports and to enter secure areas of the facilities without
authorization.

"This legislation is part of our ongoing war against terrorism by
improving the overall security at our airports," Scott said during a new
conference at LAX. 

"This measure closes legal loopholes so that airports have the tools
necessary to create a more safe and secure environment."

In March, a man tried to bring a fake hand grenade onto an Alaska
Airlines flight at Los Angeles International Airport. 

The next month, another traveler tried to smuggle aboard a plane a
handgun frame that he had stuffed into a can full of coffee grounds.

Both incidents prompted authorities to evacuate LAX passenger terminals,
which inconvenienced thousands of fliers and resulted in costly flight
delays that rippled through the nation's airspace system.

But neither traveler faced criminal prosecution because they didn't
break any local or state laws.

That would change under Scott's proposed legislation. 

In addition, Los Angeles City Councilman Jack Weiss and City Attorney
Rocky Delgadillo announced that they will pursue similar, local
legislation.

Scott's bill, SB 510, would not apply to children's toy guns or weapons,
said the senator's spokesman, Doug Stone. 

Every year, and even in the months following the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks, LAX security screeners have confiscated hundreds of fake
weapons from passengers, some of which are very realistic.

Weiss said the items that the legislation proposes to ban not only
create security risks but also can lead to evacuations and flight delays
"that are felt not just in L.A. but in the rest of the country and in
fact the whole world."

SB 510 also applies to bus and train stations. It is currently on the
Assembly floor and will be referred to a policy committee for a hearing.


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