not a leftist
26th May 2011, 16:28
(I can't post the links...)
TSA Threatens To Cancel All Flights Out Of Texas If ‘Groping Bill’ Passed
Upset about invasive screening techniques at the airport, the Lone Star State was considering a bill that would make a TSA patdown that involves touching “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing” a misdemeanor, allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest TSA officials and charge them with sexual harassment. It would have meant that TSA officials could be fined $4,000 and spend up to a year in jail for doing their jobs of feeling up prospective fliers.
On Tuesday, the bill was set to be voted on in the Senate. This called for more of a response than a simple blog post. Federal government officials descended on the Capitol to hand out a letter (embedded below) from the Texas U.S. Attorney letting senators know that if they passed the bill, the TSA would probably have to cancel all flights out of Texas. As much as they love their state, the idea of shutting down airports and trapping people in Texas was scary enough to get legislators to reconsider their support for the groping bill…
Republican Dan Patrick, who was the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, withdrew it when he realized he would not have the votes he needed to pass it. “There was a time in this state, there was a time in our history, where we stood up to the federal government and we did not cower to rules and policies that invaded the privacy of Texans,” he said with regret, reports the Texas Tribune. No last stand for Texas this week.
Text of the TSA threat:
*removed*
————————————————————————————
That weasel Patrick claimed he would resubmit the bill to the senate yesterday (the last day of the Texas regular session for them to vote on new legislation, the next regular session starts in 2013), but there is no word on if it passed; the house has already passed the bill.
THEY THREATENED AN AIR BLOCKADE TO PREVENT A STATE TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT IT IS FULLY WITHIN ITS AUTHORITY TO PASS DUE TO THE 10th AMENDMENT. What the hell?
TSA Threatens To Cancel All Flights Out Of Texas If ‘Groping Bill’ Passed
Upset about invasive screening techniques at the airport, the Lone Star State was considering a bill that would make a TSA patdown that involves touching “the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of another person including through the clothing” a misdemeanor, allowing Texas law enforcement to arrest TSA officials and charge them with sexual harassment. It would have meant that TSA officials could be fined $4,000 and spend up to a year in jail for doing their jobs of feeling up prospective fliers.
On Tuesday, the bill was set to be voted on in the Senate. This called for more of a response than a simple blog post. Federal government officials descended on the Capitol to hand out a letter (embedded below) from the Texas U.S. Attorney letting senators know that if they passed the bill, the TSA would probably have to cancel all flights out of Texas. As much as they love their state, the idea of shutting down airports and trapping people in Texas was scary enough to get legislators to reconsider their support for the groping bill…
Republican Dan Patrick, who was the sponsor of the bill in the Senate, withdrew it when he realized he would not have the votes he needed to pass it. “There was a time in this state, there was a time in our history, where we stood up to the federal government and we did not cower to rules and policies that invaded the privacy of Texans,” he said with regret, reports the Texas Tribune. No last stand for Texas this week.
Text of the TSA threat:
*removed*
————————————————————————————
That weasel Patrick claimed he would resubmit the bill to the senate yesterday (the last day of the Texas regular session for them to vote on new legislation, the next regular session starts in 2013), but there is no word on if it passed; the house has already passed the bill.
THEY THREATENED AN AIR BLOCKADE TO PREVENT A STATE TO PASS LEGISLATION THAT IT IS FULLY WITHIN ITS AUTHORITY TO PASS DUE TO THE 10th AMENDMENT. What the hell?