Arguing over gun control and calling each other names doesn't help the
conversation, does it? The US does things their way, the UK does
things their way - what's right for one isn't necessarily right for
the other.

On the question of the sky marshals, the main reason for the UK pilots
opposing them is not, as I understand, a fear of guns per se. The
government has said the sky marshals will only be used on flights
where there is a perceived threat to that flight; the pilots are
saying that if there's a known threat, they're not going to fly with
or without marshals, which is, they say (and I tend to agree) the
safest option for all concerned.

Now some might say fly anyway and let the marshals take care of
things, but they're not the ones (the aircraft captains) who are
responsible for several hundred lives in the air and, as per 9/11,
thousands on the ground.

Peter Stokes