I'm afraid if we turn our backs because of the "hoops" the program will never get off the ground.
At the risk of sounding argumentative..........
If we DO turn our backs on this program, and tell congress why, the program will change. If we submit to this nonsense (the same way we've done for drug/alcohol testing after flying, passenger screening because a gate agent committed mass murder etc.......) it will not get better, and it will be a very limited and ineffective program.
The pilots in the first class should have walked out en-masse when the SOP was officially introduced. Maybe the second class will be more inclined to walk out, since they, unlike the first class, aren't getting paid to be there.
There are a few Representatives that are really upset over the way the tsA has implemented (fouled up!) this program. So much so that there will likely be some closed sessions to "discuss" it. It's the only hope we have of getting a workable program, since the tsA has made it clear that it doesn't want us armed. It seems that they are in favor of stun guns though
(if it gets to the point where a pilot need a stun gun, he really needs a firearm.......)
If it wasn't going to cost me $6-7k of my own money (trip pull, hotel, transport and food), I might consider doing it and then never carrying the gun. As part of the general harassment associated with the program, the tsA requires ffdos to fax a copy of their schedule every month, and indicate which flights the ffdo will or won't be carrying on. I would never carry it, and forward a copy of the schedule to select members of congress letting them know exactly WHY I wasn't carrying it.