Little terrorist or big pedophile?

[SamuelRSmith]

sperrico87 said:

If the government had allowed pilots to have a pistol in the cockpit, none of this would have ever happened.

Pre-9/11:
Feds to airlines: "Your pilots aren't allowed to carry a weapon with them on a plane, and if you're hijacked, do not resist."
Terrorists: "There's nothing stopping us now."

Why just pilots, and why just pistols?