TSA, Feds Use Intimidation to Quash Texas “Groping Bill”
posted at 1:20 pm on May 25, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
A bill passed by the Texas House of Representatives making it illegal for the Transportation and Security Administration to conduct invasive pat-downs is dead after threats to cancel all outgoing Lone Start State flights.
The bill, which was quite explicit in its formulation, would have made it a misdemeanor for TSA personnel to touch “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing.” The penalties for violating the law would have included a $4,000 fine and up to a year in jail.
After the Texas House passed the bill, the TSA fired a warning volley, blogging that the state is barred by the U.S. Constitution from regulating the federal government. But when the bill went to the state Senate for a vote, the feds took more decisive action on the TSA’s behalf. U.S. attorney John Murphy drafted a letter stating that if the bill passed the Senate, the TSA would cancel all flights out of Texas. The letter argued that the TSA “could not ensure the safety of passengers and crews” unless agents were given the free range they currently enjoy, which has included:
- Reaching, twice in one pat-down, into the underpants of a whining 6-year-old.
- Groping the breasts, inner thighs, and crotch of a female passenger who had just cleared security.
- Patting down a wheelchair-bound 14-year-old victim of brain and spinal cancer.
Republican Dan Patrick, who was the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, withdrew it when he realized he lacked the votes needed for passage. The senator is quoted in the Texas Tribune as having remarked:
There was a time in this state, there was a time in our history, where we stood up to the federal government and we did not cower to rules and policies that invaded the privacy of Texans.
There was also a time in this country when the Fourth Amendment, which protects citizens against illegal searches and seizures, meant something. Sadly, that is no longer the case.
Related Articles
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- TSA more likely to scrutinize those who complain… about the TSA
- Another TSA groping accusation at LaGuardia
- NYC woman sues TSA for injuries after being thrown to the ground
- Rape victim arrested, manhandled after refusing TSA pat down
- Patting down children in wheelchairs: The TSA’s makeover can’t wait
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Republicans need to get some testicles when it comes to practicing protest theater.
I say this as a life-long Republican whose first year at college was as a NROTC scholarship student at Berkeley, in 1972, where I volunteered to help sponsor a recruiting table for off-campus USMC recruiters, in front of the student union, about a month or two before President Nixon mined Haiphong and sent B-52′s to bomb Hanoi.
The first tactic: when making up protest signs get a thick stick, such as the hardwood poles used in closets for the hangers.
kd6rxl on May 25, 2011 at 1:56 PM
The cost of being law-abiding keeps going up.
J.E. Dyer on May 25, 2011 at 2:10 PM
I knew this would happen when I heard about the bill. TX has made a statement with the bill and was trying to defend our citizens the 4th and against the feds. I bet bho and team are looking for many other ways to haul TX to court as they have other states. This right to work state will probably get the union thugs crying to bho and team to stop companies from coming to our state! Just watch!
L
letget on May 25, 2011 at 2:26 PM
And just remember that being a possible gun owner can get you raided by a SWAT team:
Insert witty screen name here on May 25, 2011 at 3:11 PM
FU, Dan Patrick. Who cares if you don’t have the votes? Put the bill out there and see what happens!
I listened to this guy last week at the grand opening of King Street Patriots. Perry was there, too. Both of them spouting off about being strong conservatives and fighting the left. The fed.gov goes “BOO” and Danny Boy runs away with his tail tucked between his legs. Nice way to “fight”.
Dominion on May 25, 2011 at 3:30 PM
Exactly. Don’t ever buy the tough talk. Truly fighting the Left, the willingness to go to the mat in a public fight, is very rare. I can count on one hand the people who’ve demonstrated it in my lifetime. Perry isn’t one.
rrpjr on May 25, 2011 at 4:03 PM
I am sadened that seemingly no one in the entire country is fighting the TSA on 4th ammendment grounds. Nor are any politicians stepping to the fore for us to stop the groping, patting, and naked viewing.
AnotherOpinion on May 25, 2011 at 4:35 PM
Even more effective: a metal pole painted to look like wood, or hollow out a wood one and put in a metal core.
Uncle Sams Nephew on May 25, 2011 at 5:56 PM
I’ll be speaking with my congressman regarding the right to equally grope, touch and feel back, eye for any eye style, on the TSA agents. It wouldn’t violate their rights any more than ours. I’ve noted in my lifetime that when you treat people as they treat you, you generally get treated better, once the punching subsides.
Robert17 on May 25, 2011 at 8:59 PM
Congressman On Recent Flight: TSA Patted Down Child, Little Old Lady; Ignored Man In Arab Garb (link @ Drudge)
Don’t go wobbly in the knees. It ain’t over ’til the fat lady sings.
This TSA issue has NOT completed either the Judicial or Legislative processes.
maverick muse on May 26, 2011 at 12:31 PM