While many Americans have been groping for a way to cope with TSA pat downs at airports, some angry legislators in New Hampshire think they have a solution: make those who do the pat downs sexual offender felons and put them on the Sexual Offender Registration list.
Any government security worker viewing or touching someone’s private parts at airports would be a felon and wind up on the state’s Sexual Offender Registry for life under legislation a Litchfield Republican lawmaker tried to advance Tuesday.
Rep. George Lambert said the intense pat-downs, high-tech invasive screening machines and even the occasional strip search at the nation’s airports for security reasons have gotten out of control.
Lambert urged the House Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee that these “invasions of privacy” by the Transportation Safety Administration and other agencies must only occur if there is probable cause.
“We understand searching for weapons and searching for explosives,” Lambert began. “When we have citizens who are strip-searched and have no ability to leave under color of law, at what point have we gone too far? We need to protect our citizens from invasion that exceeds the limitation of the TSA security procedure.”
Republican George Lambert, the bill’s co-sponsor, said passengers would not be guilty of ‘probable cause’ if they:
* Had a copy of the constitution.
* Discussed the security apparatus of an airport.
* Were on the premises of an airport.
* Possessed a plane ticket or any other type of ticket for access to mass transportation.
* Drove a motor vehicle on a public way, or owned a firearm.TSA spokesman Anne Davis confirmed there were no advanced imaging screens in operation in New Hampshire.
She said: ‘In terms of pat downs, we have announced enhanced measures. This happens if a passenger sets off an alarm.’
In other words, when it comes to pat down criticism, TSA is turning the other cheek.
But the bill’s co-sponsor, Andrew Manuse, said the proposals were intended to ‘prevent’ screening machines coming to New Hampshire.The Republican for Derry said: ‘The horror stories come up all the time when you challenge the TSA, particularly when people mention their 4th amendment constitutional rights.
‘I’ve seen people get streamed more stringently because of that. There will be a vote on this and I’m pretty confident we will win.’
CNN’s report on the story:
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.