Anti-TSA Groping Bill May Come Back To Life In Texas?

from the don't-mess-with-texas? dept

Mon, Jun 6th 2011 11:29am — Mike Masnick

After Texas politicians (new motto: "don't mess with Texas, unless you threaten to take away our airplanes") backed down on a proposal to make TSA-style gropings illegal unless the TSA could show the Constitutional basis for them, many pointed out that the bill could not be reintroduced this session. However, according to Kashmir Hill, a loophole and a whole bunch of protesters complaining about politicians backing down may mean that the bill has one more chance this year.

Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, who was one of the main reasons why the bill died in the first place, has now asked the Governor, Rick Perry, to call the bill during a 30-day special session that resulted from the state's budget fight. Hill notes that Perry might not be willing to take on this issue, due to his own presidential aspirations, but Perry has a history of going his own way on certain things, so it could happen. I'm still not sure the bill really has enough support to make it, but it certainly would create an entertaining legal fight...

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Filed Under: groping, texas, tsa

15 Comments

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Chris ODonnell (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 11:50am

Hill notes that Perry might not be willing to take on this issue, due to his own presidential aspirations...

So standing up for Civil Rights (even if it is mostly grandstanding) is a losing position for a politician? That probably tells you everything you need to know about the sorry state of our country.
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duffmeister (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 11:56am

Re:
a sad but true problem when doing what is right is seen as a liability.
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rubberpants (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 11:57am

I don't know why but this really rubs me the wrong way. They think they can just handle this law with the stroke of a pen? It's like they're groping in the dark for a solution. I'm touched that they would try but it just doesn't feel right. Take a peek guys, this is what naked ambition looks like.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 11:59am

Re:
Exceptionall well done....
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2011 @ 12:54pm

Won't someone think of the Catholic Priests?

Damn gobberment trying to steal the show that has been their little domain for centuries.
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CJ (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 12:59pm

Can someone please give Lt. Governor David Dewhurst a cookie if he follows through?
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Bengie, 6 Jun 2011 @ 1:09pm

Vote
If he stands up against our current f'd up government, I will vote for him, even if he is Texan.
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Christopher2 (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 1:15pm

They should immediately pass this law and then take the feds to federal court if they try to say that this makes people 'less safe' by pointing out that the security theater that they are doing at the airports has NEVER stopped anyone from attacking a plane or getting on board a plane with contraband items.
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Gwiz (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 1:50pm

Re:
*hat tip*

That was really good.
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Anonymous Coward, 6 Jun 2011 @ 5:20pm

Re:
That was very punny.
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Jesse (profile), 6 Jun 2011 @ 5:52pm

I think the biggest mistake the TSA made was flagrantly harassing everyone at the border. When they kept it mostly to brown people, the majority of the nation (that is, white people) didn't mind so much.
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Elizabeth Conley, 7 Jun 2011 @ 3:48am

Re:
I'm with you. As far as I'm concerned, standing up for the U.S. Constitution should be an obvious win for any politician.

Duh! Obama is a P.O.S., because he claims to be a "Constitutional Scholar", and supposedly taught "Constitutional Law", yet his administration has done everything in its power to nullify the Constitution.

The majority of Americans seem to have no problem with watching both Republican and Democratic politicians tap dance together on the Constitution.

What a sorry state of affairs.
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Elizabeth Conley, 7 Jun 2011 @ 3:57am

Re:
That was CBP. Both the TSA and the CBP now fall under the DHS. That's where most of the unconstitutional BS we've seen in the last decade comes from.

The DHS was instituted via the Unpatriot Act, which was signed into law unread by the traitors who voted for it. Ever since that act of 9/11 inspired hysteria, we've suffered creeping fascism from the federal government, all instigated by the spooks and kooks running wild within the DHS.

No legislator seems to have enough spine left to confront the DHS and ask them hard questions, much less reign them in.
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hegemon13, 7 Jun 2011 @ 6:13am

Re: Re:
The CIA has been involved in flagrantly unconstitutional activities since before the DHS was even an idea. It is the unlimited power and lack of accountability of these agencies that creates these problems. Trying to point at one particular moment and say "this is when the corruption started" is a pointless exercise that just leads to partisan bickering. Yes, the Patriot Act is heinous, but you have to look back a lot further to find the true extent of the problem. And ultimately, as long as people are willing to elect the guy who makes them feel "safe" instead of the guy who stands up for their liberty, we will continue down the path of corrupt authoritarianism.

Currently, the government has claimed the right to force us to purchase an intangible, commercial product. The current administration has stated that our income belongs to the government, and that it "costs" the government to let us keep it. The courts have ruled that we no longer have the right to defend our homes from those abusing their law enforcement power. The Patriot Act allows agents to write their own warrants in the vein of the writs of assistance issued by the British king, the very practice that sparked the Revolutionary War. Soon, we'll be "showing our papers" in the form of a national ID card. How much further down this path do we need to go before the public recognizes that we are no longer remotely free?
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Banthescan, 12 Jun 2011 @ 2:13pm

Texas Senators Need to Man Up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDChFHob96M
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