If you don't like the measures used to protect people in planes (and people under planes), the solution is VERY simple. DON'T FLY. If you don't like "profiling", DO THE MATH. Try to envision a stodgy old New Englander (picture the older guy in overalls in the ocean spray commercials) as a terrorist trying to bring down a commercial airplane. It just doesn't compute well.

With regard to wolcottyank, I feel for their plight, HOWEVER, TSA is responsible for ensuring my safety and security from the time i enter the "secure" area until the time I exit (including time in the air). Can anyone tell me how THEY were supposed to just know that wolcottyank didn't have any ill intentions ?

These terrorists are CRAZY. In the last big episode, the guy LIT HIS UNDERPANTS ON FIRE. Just think about that for a second as you're reading this. TSA is charged with figuring out these crazies - and when one gets on a plane, they're the first organization to be blamed. The fact is - it's wrong to criticize the ideas they come up with (like pat downs and x-rays) UNLESS you have a better suggestion that leads to just as much protection against the crazies.

I've attended tens of thousands of meetings over the course of my career - and not once did i feel compelled to bring a gun. While I believe in the right to carry a gun and use it in defense of person and property, I can't help but notice a correlation between the absence of guns/weapons and the absence of crime in secure areas (like at the airport) - and I can't help but wonder if the absence of guns/weapons in a larger area would equate to an absence (or at least a reduction) in crime in a larger area (like the rest of the state).

Mistake ??? It was a CRIME! No matter how many permits you have, it's still wrong to NOT KNOW WHERE YOUR GUN IS.

Was the business owner you mention (by the way, I applaud him and would do the same thing) getting robbed in the secure part of the airport ? I doubt it - because there are NO GUNS ALLOWED there.

Now that you mention it, maybe there really is a correlation between the fact that there are no guns allowed and people getting robbed are few and far between.

It sounds like he is a law abiding business owner??? did you not see the article ???
The guy tried to bring a gun through airport security. In doing so, HE BROKE THE LAW. In doing so, he forfeited the privilege of and the right to being called "a law abiding citizen."

We ARE going after the bad guys, and because he tried to bring a gun onto a plane, HE IS ONE. It would probably be easier for you to recognize if the guy that brought the gun through security had a beard and a turban, but since we can't judge by how someone dresses, we're forced to judge by what someone does, and this guy attempted to bring a gun onto a plane.

Not knowing the gun was in there is not an acceptable excuse - just as it wouldn't be an acceptable excuse if he put the gun to your head, pulled the trigger and regarding the bullet, FORGOT IT WAS IN THERE. With regard to guns and bullets, you have a right to own them, but in exercising that right, you have a requirement and a duty to know where they are.

maybe he forgot that when the plane landed it wasn't going to be in Connecticut.

by the way - even feds (other than air marshals) can only carry guns on commercial planes with the consent of the pilot...

One must wonder why a "local businessman" would need to carry a gun in his briefcase. If I were running a legitimate business (and running it well), i hardly believe I'd need a gun in my briefcase.

I may be mis-informed, but it seems that part of the problem is that for a pass the choice is either a good for 1 week or good for a lifetime. If someone's at a point where they actually need a pass enough to go get one, they're not going to have recovered in 1 week.

I'm very well aware that there are a lot of good kids here in CT. Don't be naive enough to think that SADLY they're not slowly getting outnumbered.

17 year olds throughout the state could learn a bit from this young man. Congratulations on being both a hero and a role model - and congrats to the parents who raise one !