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The press reports are horrifying: 95 year-old women humiliated;
children molested; disabled people abused; men and women subjected to unwarranted
groping and touching of their most private areas; involuntary radiation
exposure. If the perpetrators were a gang of criminals, their headquarters
would be raided by SWAT teams and armed federal agents. Unfortunately, in
this case the perpetrators are armed federal agents. This is the sorry
situation ten years after the creation of the Transportation Security
Administration.
The requirement that Americans be forced to undergo this appalling
treatment simply for the “privilege” of traveling in their own
country reveals much about how the federal government feels about our
liberties. The unfortunate fact that we put up with this does not speak well
for our willingness to stand up to an abusive government.
Many Americans continue to fool themselves into accepting TSA abuse by
saying “I don’t mind giving up my freedoms for security.”
In fact, they are giving up their liberties and not receiving security in
return. Last week, for example, just days after an elderly cancer victim was
forced to submit to a cruel and pointless TSA search, including removal of an
adult diaper, a Nigerian immigrant somehow managed stroll through TSA
security checks and board a flight from New York to LA — with a stolen,
expired boarding pass and an out-of-date student ID as his sole
identification! He was detained and questioned, only to be released to do it
again 5 days later! We should not be surprised to find government ineptitude
and indifference at the TSA.
At the time the TSA was being created I strongly opposed federalization
of airline security. As I wrote in an article back in 2001:
“Congress should be privatizing rather than nationalizing
airport security. The free market can and does produce excellent security in
many industries. Many security-intensive industries do an outstanding job of
maintaining safety without depending on federal agencies. Nuclear power
plants, chemical plants, oil refineries, and armored money transport
companies all employ private security forces that operate very effectively.
No government agency will ever care about the bottom-line security and
profitability of the airlines more than the airlines themselves. Airlines
cannot make money if travelers and flight crews are afraid to fly, and in a
free market they would drastically change security measures to prevent future
tragedies. In the current regulatory environment, however, the airlines
prefer to relinquish all responsibility for security to the government, so
that they cannot be held accountable for lapses in the future.”
What we need is real privatization of security, but not phony
privatization with the same TSA screeners in private security firm uniforms
still operating under the “guidance” of the federal government.
Real security will be achieved when the airlines are once again in charge of
protecting their property and their passengers.
In the meantime, this week I am introducing the American
Traveler Dignity Act, which establishes that airport security screeners
are not immune from any US law regarding physical contact with another
person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the
use of radiation-emitting machinery on another person. It means they are not
above laws the rest of us must obey. As we continue to see more and more
outrageous stories of TSA abuses and failures, I hope that my colleagues in
the House will listen to their constituents and join with me to support this
legislation.
Ron Paul
www.house.gov/paul
Copyright Dr. Ron
Paul
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