Anti-groping bill makes a comeback

Legislation banning invasive airport pat downs will get another chance in the Texas Legislature.

Gov. Rick Perry added the measure to the list of items that can be taken up during the special session, which ends later this month. The legislation was derailed in the Senate during the regular 140-day session, leading to a face-off between state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who is one of the bill's authors, and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

The bill, which had passed the House unanimously, would ban agents with the Transportation Security Administration from performing searches on certain parts of a person's body with their hands without probable cause.

If the bill becomes law, agents who touch travelers in a manner that a "reasonable person" would find offensive or who touch the "anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast" of a traveler would be subject to up to a year in jail and a fine of up to $4,000.

On Sunday, state Rep. David Simpson, the House author of the bill, sent a letter to Perry asking him to add it to the special session agenda.

"With broad bipartisan support for this bill, this is your opportunity to show America that you have what it takes to lead this state and the nation by enforcing the Constitution of this state and the Constitution of the United States which both protect innocent people from unreasonable searches of their person by their own government," Simpson said in the letter.

Questions persist on whether the state can impose such a law to regulate federal employees.

The bill failed to be taken up in the Senate after the federal government issued a letter to state lawmakers during the regular session saying that it would "cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew."

Patrick blamed Dewhurst for its failure. On Monday, Dewhurst said "after working closely with the Attorney General's Office the last few weeks, I'm confident that we can pass legislation that addresses these threats, while protecting innocent passengers and preserving our state's rights."

Perry, who was at the Republican Leadership Conference over the weekend, was asked if he was planning to bring the measure up again during the special session. Perry responded that there was not enough time left in the session.

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Comments

[James]

Perry, Dewhurst, and now Straus have shown their real colors about joining forces with the tyrannical, out-of-control dictatorship under Obama and the DHS. Allowing the TSA to intentional and forcefully violate and sexually harass citizens trying to use a paid service to control, is not only unconstitutional it is tyrannical. The TSA is also a fulfillment of Obama's dream of a Civilian National Security Force: "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded."

This bill needs to be strengthened to making it a felony for TSA agent to touch a passenger or be forced through a scanner without strict constitutional due process. Otherwise, we have a criminal mob that is unconstitutionally grants themselves to violate and harass citizens.