Machine guns on BART

BART Police SWAT team members are now riding on BART trains with machine guns in their hands. This is part of a pre-election homeland security initiative to "prevent another Madrid."

We object to machine gun toting cops on BART trains for the following reasons:

It creates a police state atmosphere. Free countries do not need cops with machine guns on public transit.

It can be considered Bush administration inspired intimidation of Bay Area voters.

There is no evidence of specific threats to U.S. transit systems.

Our limited security resources should be used to guard facilties with greater potential public danger such as oil refineries, chemical plants and nuclear reactors.

Machine gun toting cops are not likely to deter a terrorist with a bomb.

The danger of collateral damage from machine gun fire is greater than the imagined potential increase in safety.

If you agree contact your local BART Board member and make it a campaign issue this year. Also contact the BART police chief at 510-465-2278 and/or the BART complaint line at 510-464-7022.

This is a not a futile effort. A few years ago BART tried puting cops with drug sniffing dogs on the trains. The public outcry quickly ended that practice.