ACLU of MS

Jackson Free Press

by Adam Lynch
Photo by Darren Schwindaman
June 7, 2006

“I do not carry guns on planes, I carry two guns,” Melton told WLBT reporters on May 28, admitting that he had carried a weapon on almost every commercial flight for years.

U.S. Transportation and Security Administration spokesman Christopher White confirmed that the mayor has taken guns aboard commercial flights.

“We did learn that he has been on a commercial flight with a weapon and we don’t advise he do that,” White said.

Melton denied to The Clarion-Ledger that the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has contacted him. White would not comment outright on Melton’s denial, but did say Melton is complying with the TSA’s request.

“He has since gotten on an airplane, and he has removed his weapon,” White said. “Now we are aware that he does travel with two law enforcement officers, and we obviously have no issue with authorized individuals flying armed.”

Carrying an uncertified weapon aboard a commercial airline is a federal offense. Sheila Wilbanks, secretary with the office of U.S. Attorney Dunn Lampton, would neither confirm nor deny whether there was a federal investigation into Melton’s behavior.

Melton has not divulged how he managed to convince airport security to let him onto a plane with guns, but Jackson International Airport Federal Security Director Larry Rowlett said the decision basically comes down to the good sense of whatever clerk is handling the ticket terminal of that particular airline.

“Passengers check in at the ticket counter with their credentials. Once they show their credentials to the airline, the airline gives them a form they fill out saying they are a law enforcement officer and that they have viewed the ‘Law Enforcement Officers Flying Armed’ presentation,” Rowlett said. “After that, they’re ushered down to the exit lane, and the airport police check their credentials and (the form), and they’re on their way.”

Melton is not a certified law enforcement officer. He also does not have the kind of specialized training required of U.S. air marshals, who must pass rigorous tests regarding discharging weapons inside the delicate environment of a commercial airliner. It is unclear whether his bodyguards have such training.

“My question is: Do Marcus Wright and Michael Recio have the training?” demanded local NRA instructor Cliff Cargill. “We know that Melton isn’t a certified law enforcement officer and would not be eligible for the special training to go on board a plane carrying a firearm in the first place, but do Michael Recio and Marcus Wright have it? If they have gone through that training, that paperwork would be on file with the Department of Public Safety. If they haven’t, then they’re putting the public at risk. That, to me, is a lot of the issue.”

Cargill also has concerns about the ammunition in guns carried by Melton and his entourage. U.S. Air Marshals load special frangible, or “soft,” rounds (also known as AET or Advanced Energy Transfer) rounds, that are designed to break apart when they hit walls or other hard surfaces. Air Marshals use the rounds extensively in training and in the field because traditional bullets often ricochet in the closed environment of a commercial airline.

“Frangible bullets could still penetrate the thin aluminum inside a commercial airline if they’re shot at the right angle, but I think their biggest asset is their ability not to hit multiple innocent bystanders, which a regular lead bullet can do in a crowded jet,” said Dennis Fossey, owner and manager of Indiana-based Precision Cartridge Inc., which makes frangible ammunition. “Also frangible bullets have absolutely no ricochet. If a frangible bullet hits anything harder than itself, it’ll turn into dust. You don’t get that with regular bullets.”

Heavy metal bullets also have an alarming capacity to penetrate the hull of an aircraft. Though pumps inside the plane can keep the fuselage pressurized, bullets tearing through the underbelly of a commercial aircraft can sever fuel lines, smash delicate electrical components or cut steering cables. Air marshals know where the danger spots are inside a plane. Melton has no such training.