Melton's Mile-High Gun Club

Jackson Free Press

Wednesday, June 7, 2006

Photo by Darren Schwindaman

"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.

Previous Comments

ID: 66412
Comment: It is apparent that neither MARCO, RECO or FRANKO has the credentials or training required to take guns aboard a commercial flight. I hope that these gunslinger's back-ground checks are among the information requested by media.
Author: justjess
Date: 2006-06-08T11:55:05-06:00

ID: 66413
Comment: I believe it's part of what the city refused to provide yesterday. That in itself sends an interesting message, eh? If they have it, why not provide it?
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2006-06-08T11:59:55-06:00

ID: 66414
Comment: You do get the feeling that the running-around-playing-with-guns is blowing up in their faces, eh? And the truth is, the chief has allowed every bit of it. It falls on her shoulders, even according to the AG's opinion. No wonder she doesn't want the info released—or that's my guess.
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2006-06-08T12:01:08-06:00

ID: 66415
Comment: I hope that the TSA will extend the same courtesy to any other individual that has done the same thing that Melton has done. He should not get a free pass for breaking the law just because he is the mayor. I cannot understand why we are always told that people in higher authority are held to more stringent guidelines, but when something such as this happens.............nothing happens. It seems that anyone that can prosecute Melton are finding ways NOT to prosecute him. Recio and Wright are nothing more than Melton's a$$ kissers. If they would do the job that they are sworn to uphold then they would advise Melton that he is not hardly any different than the people that he is trying to put in jail.
Author: lance
Date: 2006-06-08T12:10:54-06:00

ID: 66416
Comment: Sid Salter picks up this Melton gun thread in his column today: Only someone with the most outlandish delusions involving a fetish to dress, pose and act as a cop would endanger the lives of innocent passengers by taking a weapon on board an aircraft without completing such training. The growing farce between The Clarion-Ledger and Jackson Mayor Frank Melton over his seeming inability to either fundamentally understand or materially comply with state open records laws aside, Melton's arguments over his need to carry guns on commercial aircraft simply stall out. Melton has failed to demonstrate that he is even remotely qualified to carry a weapon on board an aircraft. Melton has failed to produce any documentation that he is a certified law enforcement officer of any kind. Let's say that Melton's oft-repeated fears that his life is in danger - again, there's no credible evidence whatsoever of that - are true and at 35,000 feet, one of his nemeses rises out of his seat in coach to take on Frank. Are we to believe that ol' Bottom Line is capable of defending himself with a gun in such a manner as to not crash the plane or otherwise kill innocent people? . . . PLAYS ONE ON TV What about the air marshals who are trained and employed to provide security on board commercial flights? Is Frank in so much danger that federal marshals can't protect him? Why in the world, then, does it make any sense to have anyone endanger innocent air passengers traveling to and from Jackson by allowing Melton to break the federal air travel laws? Frank Melton is not a law enforcement officer. He plays one on TV, but he's just not a cop. He is, however, mayor of a city that can't deliver safe drinking water to its residents on a regular basis. Crime stats are up in the city despite his constantly playing dress-up cop, but city streets remain in deplorable shape. Economic development? That's an apparent afterthought.
Author: DonnaLadd
Date: 2006-06-11T10:33:36-06:00

ID: 66417
Comment: Good analysis by Sid. He writes almost as goos as Brian J (smile, I haven't learned to use those symbols yet). Mr Salter made excellent points. Melton HAS put aside the safety of everyone that steps on a plane with him. Mayby if he didn't step on so many toes he wouldn't be so fearful for his life.
Author: lance
Date: 2006-06-12T05:36:49-06:00

ID: 66418
Comment: I think Melton is losing his mind. It burns me up to see him pretty much say TSA is lying (Gee, haven't we seen him do that before?). I know Larry Rowlett, head of TSA here in Jackson, personally. He is a fine man and full of integrity. For years he was head of the Secret Service office here (if you saw counterfeit ring busts, he was usually the tall gray-haired secret service agent addressing the media in press conferences). He went to DC and then when TSA became operational, he took the job here to move back home. It is pretty outrageous for Melton to say that he and his department is lying when it is Melton who is the one who lies in court and has been caught in numerous lies. While he has been grandstanding for years Rowlett was serving us and prosecuting real criminals. I guess in Melton's mind everyone who disagrees with him is either lying or involved in a criminal conspiracy.
Author: Kingfish
Date: 2006-06-12T07:40:41-06:00

ID: 66419
Comment: How about this little email tete-a-tete between Sid and Melton posted on his blog. I think the wheels are coming off.
Author: pikersam
Date: 2006-06-13T15:07:36-06:00

Ellington

Melton's Mile-High Gun Club

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