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"Go Greyhound -- and
leave the dying to us." from Angel Shamaya October 4, 2001 KeepAndBearArms.com -- When a Greyhound
bus was overturned after the driver's throat was slit by a box-cutter-wielding
Croatian lunatic yesterday, people began to ask me about Greyhound's
self-defense policies -- and what kind of a response we were going to formulate
as an organization. I took it upon myself to do some homework, personally, to
see what these folks are made of. Diagnosis: 1) Greyhound's policy-makers do not
respect the natural right of self-defense or the constitutional right to keep
and bear arms. They are also wishful-thinking people who ignorantly believe --
even against clear, deadly evidence -- that a verbal or written prohibition is
going to assure compliance by the criminal minded. 2) Greyhound's President is a liar who insults the intelligence of anyone who will listen without thinking. Below you will find quotes from their officials
and representatives, links to various pages within their website and contact
information, for use if you'd like to give them a few thoughts about their policies. BACKGROUND On October 3, 2001, a 28-year-old Croatian
citizen named Damir Igric
was traveling on a Greyhound bus bound from Chicago to Orlando, Florida. On a
highway in Manchester, Tennessee, he used a box-cutter or some other type of
knife to slit the throat of the driver and then steered the bus into oncoming
traffic. The bus overturned on the other side of the highway, and the
perpetrator died, along with five other people who left the driving to
Greyhound. Later that same day, Greyhound
President Craig Lentzsch issued a statement in which he said
all of the following: HOW SAFE IS GREYHOUND? AND WHO IS IT
SAFE FOR? I spoke with the national customer service
center of Greyhound, and I spoke with their local representatives, as well. What
I found out is that they don't allow any lawful, decent American citizen to
carry a firearm for self-defense against lunatics like the one who murdered five
people yesterday. "No firearms are allowed in the coach at all," said
the local representative. And neither she nor the national representative could tell
me whether or not a current police officer can carry a firearm on their buses,
either. Greyhound's published
"checked baggage" policy also strictly prohibits transporting a
firearm in the luggage they'd like you to place in their cargo hold underneath
their buses. Not only do they want you to travel defenseless on their buses,
they want you to agree to be defenseless once you get off at your destination. Greyhound will allow
you to bring food on board the bus. They'll allow
you to bring a radio, a laptop or an electronic game on board a bus. They
even attract senior citizens onto their defenseless buses with special
discounts. You can eat, listen to music and even get a reduced rate. Take
care of some of your basic needs, but not the most basic of all:
self-preservation. NEW "SECURITY" MEASURES Greyhound President Lentzsch
gave us plenty of information about the company's new "security"
procedures in his press release, issued by the company just hours after the attack in
Tennessee. Greyhound "has taken
steps to tighten security even more and we will be continuing to do so in the
wake of this incident," he said. Following
are excerpts from that statement. (Full text is below.) That's all they've implemented so far. Read the
whole statement for yourself. The company's President also
said, "We are doing all we can."
That means they can't do any more. Liberty Advocates might beg to differ. Remove
the prohibition on carrying firearms to give people a fighting chance against
deranged lunatics bent on slitting throats. As I told the editor of the Arizona Daily Sun
yesterday -- in a letter where I urged them to think more deeply about arming
pilots -- even our nation's prison systems haven't been able to keep lethal
weapons out. Hey, Greyhound: Unless you plan to implement tighter security than our prisons
employ -- including body cavity searches -- anything short of allowing travelers
to defend themselves is sheer and irresponsible folly. CONTACT 1 (800) 229-9424 (Calls are answered 24
hours.) Complaints: custserv@greyhound.com October 3, 2001, approx.
1:15 PM Greyhound Press Conference http://www.greyhound.com/press100301.shtml
CRAIG LENTZSCH [PRESIDENT, GREYHOUND]:
…saddened by this event. Our condolences go to the families and friends of the
passengers that were hurt and injured and all of the people involved in the
incident and the driver as well. We are doing all we can to provide assistance
to the passengers and their families. Greyhound staff is on the ground at the
site and at hospitals and have been there since early this morning. The bus
originated in Chicago on its way to Orlando, Florida. The schedule had 38
passengers and a driver on board at the time of the incident. Immediately after
the incident, I made the decision to act with an abundance of caution and on the
side of safety and security and suspend service until we could identify more
details and get more information on the nature of the incident. The Department of Transportation has been very
supportive of us today. This morning, I met with senior U.S. DOT officials,
including Secretary Mineta and Deputy Secretary Michael Jackson, as well as the
chief of intelligence and security for DOT and the acting administrator of the
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. I've also consulted with law
enforcement officials in Tennessee and with the FBI. The officials have assured
me that they believe this tragic accident was the result of an isolated act by a
single deranged individual. Given that information, I then consulted with
the union leadership of our company and we have concluded that it's safe to
resume service for our customers and necessary to resume service for our
country. As of 1 PM Eastern time, Greyhound operations across the United States
have resumed service. The system is safe, but we understand that in the
aftermath of this incident, that our employees and passengers may not wish to
return to the buses today. Nevertheless, to address this system -- the
situation, in order to offer maximum choice and convenience for our customers,
today we will be offering a full refund to any passenger who does not wish to
travel to their destination. And we have partnered with Amtrak to offer an
alternative. Today only, Greyhound ticket holders may exchange their ticket for
an Amtrak ticket to be used for service on any Northeast Corridor unreserved
train and other trains in the Amtrak system on a space available basis. Now, let me return to safety and security. At
Greyhound, our passengers and our employees safety is our first priority. That
is why I made the decision early this morning to temporarily suspend our
operations. Greyhound and inner city buses provide the safest mode of
transportation. We have long had security measures in place like security guards
and cameras in our terminals to make our environment safe for our employees and
our customers, but the world has changed in recent weeks. Our concept of what is
acceptable security for ground transportation in a crisis situation has changed.
Greyhound, therefore, has taken steps to tighten security even more and we will
be continuing to do so in the wake of this incident. Yesterday, we began an experimental program
wanding passengers and their carryon luggage with electronic sensing devices in
San Francisco and Dallas and that program began today in Orlando, Florida. Prior
to reboarding passengers today, we're hand searching carryon luggage. Coincidentally, I am in Washington, DC, today,
to meet with Department of Transportation and Congress officials to explore a
number of joint actions we can take to enhance bus safety and we have agreed
that we will -- that the company and the company's union will coordinate on the
development of and implementation of enhanced bus security program with the
Department of Transportation. Let me repeat. Our operations are safe and are
now up and running and our thoughts and our prayers are with the families and
friends of the passengers who were injured or died in this unfortunate incident. |
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