Should long distance bus drivers be armed?

Question

After reading the story of what took place in Canada on Thursday, in which Vince Weiguang Li beheaded a complete stranger and terrorized the other passengers and driver, it is clear that something has to change. Canada apparently has a law against people being allowed to carry concealed weapons so the only other viable options are for bus drivers to be armed, or for marshals to be placed on these buses. What do you think?

Answer 1

Only if the bus drivers have gone through proper training in the use and safety of weapons.

But considering that most bus companies hire mostly immigrants and other poor people who are paid minimum wage and overworked, I don't think it's a very good idea.  Giving them knifes, maybe.  But guns, not a good idea.  I'd be more worried that THEY would commit a crime with them.  Having more guns floating around doesn't solve anything.  Besides, like the other guy said, this is a very rare occurrence.

Just be glad it didn't occur in the US, or he would have had a gun instead of a knife and killed 5 people instead of 1.

Answer 2

Depends on the quality of the bus drivers they hire.

Perhaps Bus Marshalls should travel undercover.

But would an insane person care if the driver or a security guard was armed or not.....

Answer 3

It's sad the way the world is turning out to be, but I think  they should be allowed.  Also pilots should be allowed guns. Something needs to be done...to many sickos getting ideas from tv and the net. What's this world coming to?

Answer 4

That sounds good, but the only problem is that it's expensive. The Bus drivers would have to go from being just the driver for the bus to being the driver and the security. You would have to give them training and pay them more money.

I think the best solution would be simple....let Canadian riders have guns. All the laws they have against guns don't work. It just takes away the ability for law abiding people to defend themselves in a situation like this. Letting them have guns will save the lives of the good people that follow the law.

Answer 5

Clear how? How many times have there been attacks by bus riders on other bus riders? It is so rare that no one worries. Airplanes are much better targets for terrorists and such, because they can do much more damage, and there is no way to evacuate a plane in flight. With a bus, at least the driver can stop and tell everyone to bail off the bus through the emergency exits. If a guy hijacks a plane, he can easily kill all the passengers and do incredible damage on the ground, as you most certainly saw on 9-11. At best, there should be metal detectors at the stations, but as it is, there are no metal detectors on most public transportation, including buses, trains, cabs, subways, etc, but as it stands now any idiot can get on a train or a bus or in a cab anywhere in this country with a gun if they want. It simply doesn't happen often enough to worry about. This was an extremely rare case of random violence, and frankly, it isn't worth arming all bus drivers or putting marshals on all buses just because of one wacko who killed one passenger. Liquor stores get held up and the clerks get killed way more often than this. There was a guy a couple of months ago who stabbed and injured someone in the back through the back of their movie theater seat. Do we put armed guards in theaters or arm the ushers? And by the way, there are not too many states in this country that allow concealed weapons of any kind, including knives over 2 inches.  

Answer 6

No, but in my opionion, I think undercover officers will be much better.

Also they should start random bag inspection on any long-distance buses or their terminals similar to what NYC subways, Port Authority police and Amtrak officials are doing.

That must be horrible.

Also, in NYC, police officers are undercover searching for any signed of pickpocket, etc.