Before 9/11, you could walk up to your airport gate at the last minute. You didn't even need to have a boarding pass. You only had to go through a security checkpoint, and no ID was required.

After 9/11, all that changed. Now travelers must present a photo ID and a boarding pass and go through enhanced security checkpoints where the wait can exceed an hour. We take off shoes and empty pockets; take laptops and other electronic devices out of our carry-ons before moving into high-resolution, full-body scanners. Our bags, shoes, electronics devices, and outer-layer clothing go through 3D-imaging X-ray machines. Airport security officers search suspicious carry-on bags and pat down passengers.

After 9/11, liquids of more than 3.4 ounces, knives, box cutters, razors, and other blades were banned, and the list of prohibited items grew significantly. All checked baggage is now screened by X-rays for explosives and other dangerous weapons in every airport in the country.

TSA began its PreCheck program that expedites screening for those who pay for and undergo a detailed background check.

Two lists were created: the "No Fly List" of people to be denied air transport and the "selectee" list to be more carefully searched at airports.

These changes were enacted because of the nearly 3,000 senseless deaths on 9/11 that awakened us to air travel's threat to our safety.

*In 2020, nearly eight-in-ten (79%) U.S. murders – 19,384 out of 24,576 – involved a firearm. 24,292 U.S. suicides were committed by firearm, and 535 people died by accidental gun discharge. Plus, there were another 400 firearm deaths under undetermined circumstances. That's 44,611 senseless deaths in a single year.

We've enacted seat belt laws that have reduced car crash deaths. We've enacted smoking laws because exposure to secondhand smoke causes disease and premature death among people who do not smoke. We have common sense OSHA standards to prevent needless workplace tragedies. We've made it a crime to mail anything that may kill or injure persons or harm property (oh wait, except for firearms).

Firearm deaths have increased 25% over the past 10 years—to the point that firearm injury is now the leading cause of death among children and adolescents in our country. Without action, that's never going to change.

Here's how to urge your representatives to take action: https://nfty.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/32/2018/04/Call-in-day-guide.pdf

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*https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2022/02/03/what-the-data-says-about-gun-deaths-in-the-u-s/

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