March 1, 2024
The Honorable Mike Johnson
Speaker
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Hakeem Jeffries
Minority Leader
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Charles Schumer
Majority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
Minority Leader
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
Speaker Johnson, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader Jeffries, and Minority Leader McConnell:
On behalf of our affiliated unions representing hundreds of thousands of aviation and security workers at airports nationwide, we strongly support permanently authorizing the bipartisan Undetectable Firearms Act.
Since 1988, the Undetectable Firearms Act has required all firearms to be detectable by containing enough metal to set off walk-through metal detectors or x-ray machines, ensuring that firearms are not taken to areas where they are expressly prohibited. More and more, flight crews and gate agents must deal with the excessive and all-too-often violent behavior of unruly passengers. Our members have been physically and verbally assaulted simply for carrying out their critical duties of keeping the flying public safe.
As you know, the current authorization of the law expires on March 8, 2024. Should Congress fail to timely reauthorize the Undetectable Firearms Act, flight crews, gate agents, and security professionals at airports could face the possibility of having to restrain an unruly passenger brandishing a loaded firearm that evaded airport security detection. This scenario could be deadly for aviation workers and passengers.
Permanently authorizing the Undetectable Firearms Act would prevent the manufacturing and possession of undetectable firearms at airports, crowded stadiums, and courtrooms, ensuring that firearms do not enter these secure areas unknowingly. Simply put, reauthorization of this legislation is a national security imperative.
We strongly urge Congress to permanently authorize the bipartisan Undetectable Firearms Act to ensure the safety of flight and ground crews and high-threat public spaces.
Sincerely,
American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE)
Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA)
Association of Flight Attendants (AFA)
Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD)
Transport Workers Union of America (TWU)
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)