Typo in Law Establishes Mandate to Lock Gun-Toting Train Passengers in Boxes

[oneshooter]

Because of a typo, President Obama signed a bill into law Wednesday that requires passengers who carry firearms aboard Amtrak be locked in boxes for their journey.


Harry Houdini made a career escaping from locked boxes. So did David Copperfield and Doug Henning.

And now, add to that list Amtrak passengers packing heat in their luggage?

It may sound absurd. But President Obama signed a bill into law Wednesday that requires passengers who carry firearms aboard Amtrak be locked in boxes for their journey.

It's a mistake in the law's wording. But for now, the clerical error is the law of the land.

The bill text was correct when the House approved the legislation last week. The Senate followed suit Sunday, but somewhere along the line, the language that referred to putting the guns in locked boxes morphed into stuffing "passengers" into locked boxes.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/12/16/typo-law-establishes-mandate-lock-gun-toting-train-passengers-boxes/?test=latestnews

So are drinks and sandwiches provided?
Posted just for fun!!

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

[provis99]

1. Finally, Obama has passed a law I can support!

[logjon]

6. that's stupid

why would you support locking law-abiding gun owners in a box?

[eqfan592]

14. You'll find that a lot of people...

...tend to turn "stupid" when it comes to the issue of firearms, in no small part due to the large amount of disinformation they've been fed by organizations like that Brady Campaign.

Oh, and welcome to the DU :)

[Xipe Totec]

2. Well, at least they can shoot breathing holes onto the boxes n/t

[rwheeler31]

3. Good idea.

[aquart]

4. I want to see this enforced.

[Ruby the Liberal]

19. +1

As written. :evilgrin:

[greennina]

5. Why do you believe Faux News?

What's your agenda? Obviously Obama would never sign such a thing. Why would you say that he did.

[taurus145]

7. I found the text of the bill, you can, too

The report is accurate.

No. I will not do your work for you. Find the text for yourself, then you can't impugn the source.

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

9. I suppose Common Dreams and the Brady Campaign are lying also.

WASHINGTON - December 10 - Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, today commented on new legislative language that would require Amtrak passengers to give at least 24 hours' notice prior to checking luggage containing firearms and ensure that such checked luggage is secure and inaccessible to other passengers:

"It is dangerous for Congress to dictate to Amtrak how to handle guns on passenger trains. Trying to micromanage Amtrak security is inappropriate at best, reckless at worst. But now that Congress has decided to allow passengers to be able to transport firearms in checked luggage on trains operated by Amtrak, at least their negotiators have responded to some of the safety concerns raised by gun violence prevention advocates.


http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/12/10-11

[Angleae]

8. The text in question.

http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/C?c111:./temp/~c111vdJwl5

Sec. 159. (a) Amtrak Security Evaluation- No later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act, Amtrak, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (Transportation Security Administration), shall submit a report to Congress that contains--

(1) a comprehensive, system-wide, security evaluation; and

(2) proposed guidance and procedures necessary to implement a new checked firearms program.

(b) Developement and Implementation of Guidance and Procedures-

(1) In General- Not later than one year after the enactment of this Act, Amtrak, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary, shall develop and implement guidance and procedures to carry out the duties and responsibilities of firearm storage and carriage in checked baggage cars and at Amtrak stations that accept checked baggage.

(2) Scope- The guidance and procedures developed under paragraph (1) shall--

(A) permit Amtrak passengers holding a ticket for a specific Amtrak route to place an unloaded firearm or starter pistol in a checked bag on such route if--

(i) the Amtrak station accepts checked baggage for such route;

(ii) the passenger declares to Amtrak, either orally or in writing, at the time the reservation is made or not later than 24 hours before departure, that the firearm will be placed in his or her bag and will be unloaded;

(iii) the firearm is in a hard-sided container;

(iv) such container is locked; and

(v) only the passenger has the key or combination for such container;

(B) permit Amtrak passengers holding a ticket for a specific Amtrak route to place small arms ammunition for personal use in a checked bag on such route if the ammunition is securely packed--

(i) in fiber, wood, or metal boxes; or

(ii) in other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition; and

(C) include any other measures needed to ensure the safety and security of Amtrak employees, passengers, and infrastructure, including--

(i) in fiber, wood, or metal boxes; or

(ii) in other packaging specifically designed to carry small amounts of ammunition; and

(c) Definitions-

(1) For purposes of this section, the term `checked baggage' refers to baggage transported that is accessible only to select Amtrak employees.

[Ian David]

11. I don't see any such typo. n/t

[eqfan592]

13. Remember that the typo was not on the version that came out of congress

It was on the version that the president signed, according to the story.

[benEzra]

16. That would mean the version that becomes law won't have the typo.

Either he'll have to re-sign the version Congress passed, the version Congress passed will become law without a new signature after a certain amount of time, or the courts will declare that he meant to sign Congress's version, but any way you slice it the law is Congress's version. The President can't do anything to change the text of the law at signing.

[benEzra]

17. oops, wrong place (n/t)

[benEzra]

18. Since there are no "gun toting passengers" in the scenario at all,

it seems to me that the headline writer didn't bother to read the law too closely.

[Euromutt]

24. That's not the only problem with the article

The rules to allow Amtrak passengers to carry weapons with them are new. Airline passengers have long been permitted to transport weapons in checked luggage. But Amtrak banned firearms from its trains after Sept. 11.

As you rightly note, benEzra, the law does not allow passengers to carry weapons with them; it allows them to have firearms transported in their checked luggage, which is in a separate train car, inaccessible to the passengers.

Second, the rules are not, strictly speaking, new. As the article itself alludes, firearms were permitted on Amtrak in checked luggage prior to 2001, so what this amendment does is restore the status quo ante.

Frankly, it's not very well written.

I do have note that various Google searches have failed to turn up any corroboration to this story, causing me to doubt its veracity. I'll reserve judgment for the moment, but I won't be surprised if it turns out this story bollocks.

[Ian David]

10. Fox "News" is not a legitimate source. n/t

[PavePusher]

12. Even if they are correct?

Admitedly, doesn't happen often, but heck, if they manage to state that 2+2=4, they aren't wrong just because they are FoxNews.

[Ian David]

15. Then we can find a non-Fox link for the story. n/t

[oneshooter]

20. Go ahead, find it and post the same info.

[Ian David]

21. Not my job. n/t

[PavePusher]

22. The moral equivalence of sticking fingers in your ears and yelling "Neener, neener, neener!" n/t

[Ian David]

23. Here, let me google that for you...

http://tinyurl.com/yedf5w2

Happy now?

[eqfan592]

25. While I do agree that there's always reason to question faux news stories.

I think your going a little overboard with it here, Ian. Take a look at Euromutts posting for a better example of expressing distrust of faux news while also remaining open minded and rational.

[Ian David]

26. Thanks. n/t

[PavePusher]

27. Well, thank you....

But that was not at all the point.

Have a good weekend.

[petronius]

28. A train car is kind of like a box, and I'm sure they lock the doors while the train

is in motion, so this should work out OK... :)