Media outlets like the Washington Post are sounding the alarm about "weapons restrictions" being eased at area airports. But there is something they aren't telling you.

People soon will be able to carry guns and other dangerous weapons onto the grounds and parking lots of Reagan National and Dulles International airports, after officials yesterday eased what they said were overly restrictive rules.

Without debate, the board of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority unanimously agreed to permit passengers and other airport visitors to carry guns, knives and other weapons as long as they keep them out of terminals and other buildings that access airfields. Passengers who are taking guns with them on flights still will be allowed to carry them into the terminal but are supposed to make arrangements with airlines in advance, officials said.

The arrogant asses at the MWAA are merely conceding that they must abide by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. MWAA restrictions are much more strict than state law allows, and with the passage of statewide pre-emption, enforcing their rules is also illegal.

And this is more than a simple argument about guns in airports. The MWAA claims authority to several major highways in Northern Virginia.

Before yesterday's action, the authority barred anyone from carrying what it defined as dangerous weapons -- including firearms, knives with blades longer than four inches, bows and arrows and even sandbags -- from all airport property. That covered parking garages, access roads and several highways near Dulles, including parts of the Dulles Toll Road, Route 28 and the Dulles Greenway.

Motorists with weapons in their cars could be arrested if they drove on those roads, even if they had no intention of going to the airport.

That meant that anything an airport security agent might consider a "weapons" (knives, sharp screw drivers, fingernail clippers) could get you arrested on Route 28, or the Dulles Toll Road. Many of these roads are major commuting routes.

In fact, the whole reason the MWAA is even addressing the issue is that they have already lost in court. This summer they charged Gary Alves for having a utility knife in the airport parking lot. Mr. Alves case was thrown out of court after the judge ruled that the MWAA's rules were totally pre-empted by state law, which as of July 1 says that the only sanitary areas of the airport are the main terminal building and the areas beyond the security checkpoints.

Even with the changes, MWAA rules (which do not go into affect until December 1st), still violate state law.