Originally published April 25 2013
Texas reintroduces bill to criminalize invasive TSA pat downs
by Ethan A. Huff, staff writer
(NaturalNews) Living up to a promise he made last fall, Representative David Simpson of Longview, Texas, has once again reintroduced a bill that would reign in the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and its flagrantly unconstitutional abuses at Texas airports. As reported by CBS News, the latest version of Rep. Simpson's bill has been watered down some, still allowing TSA screeners to pat down travelers, but prohibits the type of invasive groping that is all-too-common at American airports.
If passed, the Texas Travel Freedom Act (TTFA), also known as House Bill 80, would make it a criminal act for TSA screeners to intentionally touch "the anus, breast, buttocks, or sexual organ of the other person, including touching through clothing" without probable cause in the process of determining whether to allow someone to access a public venue or travel. The bill would also provide extra protection for children, who are regularly molested by TSA screeners when their parents refuse to allow them to pass through the TSA's naked body scanners.
"The problem is this effort at security is really treating travelers, innocent people, as criminal suspects and making them submit to unreasonable, very intrusive searches," says Rep. Simpson. "They're violating peoples' most sacred areas of their bodies. It's not only offensive, it's insane."
Federal government has repeatedly threatened states that challenge TSA
Back in 2011 when Rep. Simpson first introduced a stricter version of the bill, the federal government quickly demonstrated its rogue nature by threatening to shut down all air travel in the state of Texas. Many Texas congressmen quickly retreated from the legislation, proving themselves to be complete cowards, and the bill died. But Rep. Simpson has remained persistent in trying to defend the people's right to travel freely without government intrusion.
"If you walk up to somebody and grab their crotch out on the street, it will land you in jail," adds Rep. Simpson. "Blue uniforms and federal badges don't grant some goon the power to sexually assault you, or at least they shouldn't. A person doesn't forfeit her or his dignity with the purchase of an airline ticket."
Meanwhile, a lawsuit filed against the TSA by two Harvard University law students is soon headed to a court hearing, according to the Huffington Post. The suit rightfully alleges that the TSA's naked body scanners and "enhanced" pat downs violate travelers' Fourth Amendment rights by subjecting them to unreasonable searches without warrant or probable cause. If successful, the lawsuit will be critical in eventually deconstructing the ridiculous TSA security theater present at most U.S. airports.
Sources for this article include:
http://houston.cbslocal.com
http://tenthamendmentcenter.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/038027_Texas_state_nullification_NDAA.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com
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