On metal detectors

Although I too dislike dealing with them at airports, I have to admit that metal detectors are necessary. I worked for a government agency that maintains offices in local neighborhoods, and my office was in an inner city, so security was a major concern for us. One of our security guards documented the various items he seized from people, including sharpened screwdrivers and knives, and so we finally got a detector to find such metal objects. One lady once tried to bring in a gun and flew off the handle when it was confiscated and had to be maced. When old ladies tried to come in with weapons in their purses, the guards had to send them out, though they understood the old ladies just wanted to protect themselves while out on the street. Fortunately, nobody tried to bring in a bomb or automatic pistol or submachine gun or anything drastic like that. We did find many small weapons people carried for self protection.