October 21, 2009 11:38AM # Gun Control Masquerading as Counterterrorism By [Jim Harper](https://www.cato.org/people/jim-harper) --- SHARE I was unimpressed with the security arguments made by the chairman and ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee in a letter to appropriators the other week. Citing the “commando-style” terrorist raid on a train station in Mumbai last year, [the letter](http://homeland.house.gov/sitedocuments/letter100909.pdf) objected to language in the [Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act](http://www.washingtonwatch.com/bills/show/111_HR_3288.html) that would require Amtrak to allow firearms in checked luggage. But the risk of a commando-style raid does not support—in fact it undermines—the authors’ argument that weapons should be banned on passenger trains. With law-abiding citizens fully disarmed, any terrorist raiders would know that they are more free to cut a deadly swath through an innocent population. It was counterattack by civilians that prevented a fourth plane from being used as a guided bomb on September 11, 2001. Disarming the law-abiding citizen is contrary to the lesson of that day. ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [General](https://www.cato.org/general) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).