Air passnegers now must show an ID to be allowed on board

the reasons people do not have IDs, but it is presumed that most people report them lost, stolen or simply forgotten. A handful of people, though, tell TSA document checkers that they do not believe the government has the right to require an ID.

Those who object to the ID requirement often refer to “John Gilmore v. Alberto Gonzales,” which involved TSA security protocols. On 4 July 2002 John Gilmore, the plaintiff in the federal case, challenged the TSA’s pat-down and search policies. Gilmore tried to board planes at two San Francisco-area airports without showing an ID or submitting to a pat-down. Both times, he was rebuffed. TSA also refused to show Gilmore or his lawyers the checkpoint ID and search policies, saying they were sensitive security information, or SSI, a classification that prevents them from public disclosure. Gilmore filed suit in federal court. His lawyers fought unsuccessfully for the TSA checkpoint procedures, arguing that the public had the right to know laws they are expected to obey, and that lawyers have a right to review laws they are challenging. The court declined to order the TSA to reveal the regulations, and, after viewing the regulations privately, out of public view, the judge ruled against Gilmore, saying his constitutional right to travel was not violated because other forms of transportation remained open to him. The court also ruled that the TSA’s identification policy did not violate Gilmore’s rights because Gilmore had the option of declining to show an ID and submitting to a legal search. Now, however, the new TSA policy removes that option, privacy advocates said, making the new policy ripe for another court challenge. “I anticipate that this will be litigated,” said Harrison, who represented Gilmore in the California case. “Many people are upset about this change in policy.”

Privacy advocates also question a second recent TSA policy change. In the Gilmore ruling, the judge noted that if Gilmore wanted to avoid a search he thought was unconstitutional, he could have merely walked away. The TSA now says passengers cannot refuse a search once they have entered the checkpoint area. Aside from questions of law, Harrison and others say the new policy will not improve security. They say that it affects only travelers who flatly refuse to provide identification, and that terrorists are unlikely to draw attention to themselves by doing that. TSA says that under the new policy, all people without IDs will face varying security measures, from pat-downs to interviews with behavior detection officers. “By increasing our options, people with bad intentions don’t know what exactly to plan against,” the TSA said. Privacy advocates say the TSA already uses those techniques, and say the policy change will only hurt those who assert their rights. TSA officials say the need to change the policy could not be more clear. The government ID checkers are trained to spot false IDs, and the change provides another layer of security needed to keep the skies safe. Without the change, they say, people could “game the system,” using a fake name and a fake boarding pass to bypass screeners. Hawley said agency lawyers have reviewed the new regulation and are “comfortable” with it.