After this recent shooting at an LA airport ticket counter, some people are now saying we should have security screening encompass the entire airport, not just the boarding areas. What they can't say is what this would accomplish. It's a stupid idea that will cause more trouble than its worth. Why exactly? Airports only have extensive security because of one thing: airplanes. We want to keep hijackers off of the planes. And so we do the screening to prevent weapons from getting onto the planes. The planes are the focus here because of both traditional hijacking and the suicide hijackings of September 11th. And so a shooting at a ticket counter, while tragic, is no different from a shooting at an office building or a busy mall. Are people going to suggest that we implement airport style security at every office building and every shopping mall? Pretty doubtful. So why in the world would we do it for airport ticket counters when it wouldn't do anything more to stop hijackers from getting onto planes?