Aviation securityTexas House prohibits intrusive airport pat downs

Published 17 May 2011

The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill that would make invasive pat downs at airports a crime; pat down procedures that would be covered under the measure are inspections that touch the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing, or touches the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person; the law would not be enforceable since state legislatures have no authority over federal agencies such as the TSA

Texas House has made this illegal // Source: preservingthetorch.com

The Texas House of Representatives approved a bill that would make invasive pat downs at airports a crime. The passage of the bill comes after a former beauty queen claimed she felt molested during a pat down in the Dallas/Fort Worth airport.

USA Today reports that if the bill becomes law — it needs a final vote from the House and then moves to the Senate — Transportation Security Administration (TSA) agents could be charged with a misdemeanor crime, a $4,000 fine, and up to a year in jail. Pat down procedures that would be covered under the measure are inspections that touch the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing, or touches the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person, according to msnbc.com. Msnbc.com quotes the measure’s author, David Simpson, a Republican, to say that “Indecent groping searches when innocent travelers are seeking access to airports and public buildings would be outlawed under this bill.”

Texas is not the only state that would like to see an end to intrusive security screening procedures at the nation’s airports. The USA Today article pointed out that New Jersey, New Hampshire, and Hawaii have also introduced legislation to restrict pat downs or full-body scans. The paper noted that Alaska passed a resolution calling on TSA to ease up on the screening process.

Even if one of these states does pass legislation, however, it would not be enforceable. According to USA Today, “State legislatures have no authority over federal agencies such as the TSA. State laws restricting airport security could not be enforced.”