The outrage has been loud and clear over the latest security measures enforced by the Transportation Security Administration. So much so that websites like OptOutDay.com and WeWontFly.com have developed a following, and some people are forgoing travel plans altogether during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend.
Do passengers have the right to be upset, or is this all just a craze created by a few isolated events and media coverage? What options do people have for “comfortable” travel?
We asked California First Amendment Attorney Marc Randazza of the Randazza Legal Group a few questions. He offers a candid opinion – let us know if you agree with his assessment.
Avvo: Can you provide a brief overview of what the new TSA security policies are all about, and why they have been implemented? And most important, are they effective?
MR: The New TSA policy is this: that a certain number of passengers will be required to go through the enhanced scanning machines. These are commonly known as “virtual strip search machines.” Ostensibly, these are optional, and if a passenger wishes to opt out, he or she may. However, opting out comes with a price — the passenger must then be thoroughly frisked, in a manner that is more thorough than I have endured both times I was locked up in a jail cell.
Why have they been implemented? A very deep question. The stated reason is to make us more safe when we fly. My belief is that this is utter nonsense, and that they have been implemented as part of the “Post 9-11 giddy civil liberties message” that we have all been forced to endure, because questioning anything that is done in the name of combating terrorism is tantamount to treason. Once the government gets away with it here, why not expand it to stadiums? (as they did) or to trains?
The point here is security theater. Make us all scared that we could be blown up at any minute, and we’ll gladly deal with those who put on a show of protecting us.
Avvo: It has been reported that people are being subjected to these “pat downs” because they refuse going through a full body scanner. So is this happening at every airport, or only the ones that have this newer technology?
MR: Only those with this technology as far as I know.
Avvo: Does the TSA have the right to enforce these types of security measures? What if someone does not want to go through the full body scanner or through the “pat down” process?
MR: The only person with a right to complain is Russ Feingold or anyone who voted for him. The law says that if you want to fly, you have to do what the TSA tells you. And, if you find it offensive, you need to think about that before you go to the airport, because once the screening starts, if you decide you don’t want to go further, the government can fine you $11,000.
So yes, the TSA has the right, and anyone with a problem with it should shut up unless they protested on September 12, 2001 that they didn’t want our civil liberties taken away in the name of the war on terror. Anyone who voted for George Bush should doubly shut up.
Avvo: If someone has been “pat down” in a way that they feel was inappropriate, what should they do? Can they take legal action against that TSA official or the TSA as a whole?
MR: “Sure”, good luck with that.
Avvo: What are your thoughts on the call for an “opt out day” being organized for the day before Thanksgiving? In addition to creating tremendous delays, won’t this actually create more opportunities for “pat downs”?
MR: I think it is a wonderful idea. However, there should not just be an “opt out day.” Passengers should do everything they can to resist. First thing we need to recognize is to stop swallowing this story that the poor front-line TSA agents are just honest people doing their jobs. They are not. We are all Americans, and we all have a responsibility to resist when these kinds of idiotic changes are made. I’m sure that there were plenty of very nice civil servants just doing their jobs behind the iron curtain when they spied on their neighbors. People were just doing their jobs when they locked up Japanese Americans at Manzanar. People were just doing their jobs when they herded Jews into cattle cars in the 1940s, right?
So what do we do? When I was in the Army, I was taught that if you are taken prisoner, you have a responsibility to make your captors work as hard as they can to hold you. Same in this situation. We must resist every way possible — and that means stop being polite to TSA agents. And I don’t just mean at the airport. Abuse them if you know them in “real life.” I wrote on that here.
Write to your congressman (ha, like that will matter). Buy a refundable first class ticket and then cancel at the last minute, explaining that you don’t want to be subject to this, and that the airlines haven’t done anything to help, so you refuse to fly. Get creative. Don’t be silent about it. Try and influence others to resist too.
Do you have questions about the TSA security pat downs? Let us know in the comments section and we’ll get you answers.
11 comments
Advokat Gävle
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Advokat Uppsala tar upp allt du behöver veta om advokater och jurister i Uppsala...
Sandy
My fifteen year old was forced to go through one of those porno scanners, when I complained to TSA I was told they want americans to accept those scanners, since it's no secret that the scanners are being peddled by former TSA administrator micheal chertoff and pistole pat downs are only being used to increase his profits, what right do we have against corrupt government officials
tsa guy behind the curtain
haha that lady has a [censored]!
Andy
I am not a US citizen, but I must admit that I think the current level of security is horrendous. Manchester Airport in the UK has started implementing backscatter scans for ALL passengers passing through its gates, which I will be forced to refuse when flying back to visit family this Christmas.
More worrying however is a story which is trending on Reddit at the moment about someone who was forced to go through a TSA search on the way IN to a US airport. He had already completed all security checks in Paris CDG and boarded his flight. He had flown to Northern Kentucky International Airport without incident and was awaiting entry to his home country, when he was called for a TSA search and/or backscatter scan.
The story and the outcome are both shocking and bizarre, and can be found here: http://bit.ly/ggLIwE
Would be interesting to hear your thoughts from a legal perspective.
jake3_14
Do you expect anyone to take this guy seriously? Randazza's main business is representing pornographers. The man probably knows how to push the envelope of the 1st amendment, but he has zero credibility when it comes to discussing citizens' assertions of their 4th amendment rights. Seriously, be rude to off-the-clock TSA employees is the best he can come up with?! How about suggesting an national teleconference meeting month? How about pressuring the Tea Partiers just elected to Congress to audit the TSA with respect to the constitutionality of their practices?
If you're going to talk to a lawyer, talk to a legitimate civil rights lawyer with experience in citizen activism, not some shill for the erotic entertainment industry whose best idea reminds me of a sixth-grade girl's.
Nick Chandler
You are quick to attack his character, but are any of his points invalid? I find it hard to criticize anything he's said. Considering this is no case law on anything involving this stuff yet, you can really only talk hypothetical at this point.
jake3_14
The messenger tarnishes the message. Clearly that doesn't appeal to legal theorists or those in the ivory tower, but in the mundane world, someone's expertise in a field matters. The interview and Randazza's web site never mentions why he's suited to pontificate on 4th amendment issues. Also in the mundane world, someone associated with the pornography field is considered a sleazebag whose opinions on public policy matters are irrelevant because their business appeals to prurient interests, a farkin' *TABOO* in America.
As far as ideas I have, re-read my post. I suggest to viable forms of pressure on the TSA: one indirect that pressures the airlines, and one direct via congressional hearings by people that claim they're fed up with large government and its betrayal of citizens' interests.
outraged999
Why does it matter if he is a 1st amendment attorney or not? It's that type of ignorance that got us to this point of naked scans or molestation being allowed in the first place.
Tom
Since you're making ad hominem attacks and questioning Randazza's credibility instead of addressing his points, I might as well ask:
Who the hell are you and what qualifies you to evaluate Randazza's opinion?
CB WILBER
Rather than having "Joe Schmoe" from off the street behind the full body scanner, yukking it up with his buddies at some after hours bar about what he saw... they should be manned/womaned by persons with medical training (ie. used to seeing the human body not as the base line for the next joke), such as EMT's, CNA, PA's, FNP's, even MD's I think people would be less likely to feel threatened if they realize a professional is looking through the monitor...
arbitrage
This idea would simply not work. A couple of points: (1) these are back scatter x-rays, not the type used for medical imaging. They can't see into the body and thus you need no medical training to "read" them (You just need common sense knowledge of anatomy and some training sessions). (2) Good luck getting PAs, FNPs, MDs to work at whatever rate they pay TSA agents. Also we have a shortage of medical personal, we don't need to be taking skilled caregivers out of our system. (3) EMTs and CNAs are definitely not professionals in any sense of the word. (4) You missed the point! It's not that I'm afraid of some TSA guy seeing me naked it's that I shouldn't have to go through this to get on a plane, "Those who sacrifice their liberty for security deserve neither." (5) These scanners don't really improve security and are not that effective. It's a game of cat and mouse.
A better solution would be to asses peoples' behavior and put bomb sniffing dogs at airport entrances.