The fourth amendment states: “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.” The new TSA scanning and pat-downs violates that amendment.

I heard a startling statistic in a recent survey that most people aren’t against the new security check guidelines. I think that it either indicates that people don’t know what those new guidelines really entail or the survey participants simply believe that if something is how it’s done then it’s fine – that “why fight it?” mentality that is more dangerous to democracy than terrorism.

This is what the new guidelines mean.

1. Virtual Strip Searches: This means that a TSA agent examines hi-resolution images of your body as it would appear if you were naked. This is no different from being asked to strip to go through security. You don’t have to be doing anything wrong to be required to submit to this strip search. Your crime is merely asking to board a plane.
2. Enhanced Pat-Downs: If you opt out of the virtual strip search, you have to say, “I opt out.” This is then followed by an unnecessarily loud announcement that someone in line has dared to opt out. You are then taken to a spot without privacy and touched on every part of your body by a TSA agent. Your groin. Your breasts. Your face. Your hair. If it weren’t a TSA Agent under these guidelines, it would be sexual assault. Part of the goal of this treatment is to shame you for opting out and to strike fear into any other people contemplating such a measure.
3. You Must Choose One or the Other Or…: If you opt out of the virtual strip search and then don’t allow a TSA agent to feel you up, you cannot fly. But that isn’t all. You are also subject to fines up to $10,000. For inconveniencing the TSA? For defending your rights? For dissent?

Isn’t that oppression? Isn’t that exactly what we’ve sent thousands of soldiers to Afghanistan and Iraq to their untimely deaths to defend?

The fact is that these measures aren’t going to contribute to our safety. Our best defense against terrorism is for the public and law enforcement to be attentive. That’s how the shoe bomber and underwear bombers were caught. Not by the TSA. Tragedy averted without sacrificing our rights or our dignity. The way it should be in a free society.

Tags: 4th amendment, security, terrorism, TSA, Won't fly | Category Life in General