Andrew Krieg comments:
With any luck, this week’s consumer protests will force our government to limit the new airport visual scans and genital-area pat-downs to those who are seriously suspected of dangerous crime.
The growing national protests against the new “porno-scans” that have begun in Washington and a few other airports should mark a turning point.
“Groping people at the airport doesn’t solve our problem,” said Rep. Ron Paul, a Republican from Texas who introduced the one-paragraph American Travel Dignity Act last week. It would forbid government agents from measures such as taking what are, in effect, nude photos that would be illegal if undertaken by private citizens. The stupidity of the overall plan, Paul says, is illustrated by its initial theory that pilots who carry guns and steer the planes should be subject to “groping” like other travelers at security checkpoints.
Government policies should have a reasonable cost-benefit basis, especially in today’s economy. And, above all, the policies must protect the public’s historic rights of due process and against improper searches. If that all sounds too high-falutin’ why do we want to show the world on every plane ride that our government thinks we, the citizens, are cowards and fools?
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