RgnadKzin

I was travelling home with my daughter from grandma's house and had occassion to connect thru Milwaukee's Concourse E. I do not possess "government issued" ID. First, because I see no reason to make application for permission to exist, second, because this is the land of my birth, and third, because most states "require" a Social Security Account Number (SSAN) to make application, I never made application for one.

So, the ID that I have, I make myself. It has my picture, name, mailing address (PO Box), height, weight (still fluctuating) and signature on the front, and is in the form of an affidavit on the back. I do not put a date of birth on it, as first, it's none of anyone's business, and second, because I cannot swear to the exact date from personal knowledge (Do you remember the day you were born and did you have an understanding of the calendaring system at that age? For that matter, do you even know that the people that you believe to be your parents actually are your parents?)

It has no expiration date upon it, only the "commission expires" date for the notary that acknowledged it.

I usually have no problems flying, I have silver elite status on NWA and rack up the miles sufficiently to get first class upgrades. I note that when I have a first class boarding pass, I never get hassled in any way shape or form.

However, I was travelling with my three (going on thirteen) year old daughter. We got thru at DTW with no problem, and had a three hour layover at MKE. I like to browse the used bookstore while I am waiting, so I exited the concourse E sterile area and later had to re-enter.

Upon re-entering, the barely english speaking rent-a-cop looked over my home grown ID. She wanted a birth date and an expiration date. I told her that the commission expiration can be considered as an expiration date and that I did not know my birthdate. She gave me the same look that I get from everyone and called over the TSA super on duty (Charles) at that entrance.

I took the man's hand and asked him how I could help him. He told me that because I don't have government-issued ID, that I was going to be designated a "selectee" and given secondary screening. He told me that because my three-year-old was with me, that she would be subjected to that as well. I told him that I believed that because I am not a person who can acquire "government issued" ID, because I have no SSAN, that I consider this to be religious discrimination. I related that under no circumstances was anyone going to be groping my daughter. It was obvious from her clothing (short sleeves, shorts, sandals) that she was "concealing" nothing. He told me that was the "procedure" and that I had to comply with that.

Really? I asked. Could you show that to me in writing? He trundled off to check and came back a few minutes later telling me that he had just looked it up and that it said what it said. "Then you can show it to me in writing, because it is written down, right?" "No, I can't. That's a security directive."

I mean no disrespect, but the federal Register Act and Administrative Procedures Act state very clearly that if I am required to do something, that it must be published in the Federal Register. I had checked earlier that day, and there was no such regulation in force and effect. Again, unless you can show it to me, then I will have to believe that there is no such regulation, and that you are willfully subjecting me to an unreasonable search in violation of your oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States. You did take such an oath, did you not?

I was assured that he had, but he was not going to show me the written requirement. Well, if you deny me boarding, then I am going to have to sue you. He told me that my daughter could be "de-selected," but that he did not have the authority to do so. Can you please bring someone over here that does? So, we waited about 10 minutes for the honcho (Rick) to arrive.

We went thru the same discourse and he told me that he was going to "de-select" my daughter and then told me the terms and conditions: I could not touch her until after I had been screened, and I could not touch any of our belongings until I had been screened.

So, my daughter went thru first, and I came thru after all of our carryon stuff had been put onto the conveyor. After I came thru, Charles told me that I was going to be patted down. I then told the him that I meant no offense, but I objected to being handled by anyone who was a homosexual or bisexual person. I am not asking you your own sexual orientation, and I was not bringing anyone else over to talk about this matter, it was between just you and me. If you are either a homosexual or a bisexual person, then I would be grateful if you would get me a different screener. He assured me that he was straight and then I followed his directions.

He and a young black girl then took everything out of our bags and handled just about everything. I did not see the need for that. It was duly "swabbed" and the swabs were sent thru the "sniffer." My daughter asked me what they were doing with our things. Charles told her that he was "cleaning" it. I corrected him by telling my three-year-old that they were checking for explosives and that if we had explosives that we would be in trouble. Later, my daughter asked me why they were doing this, and I told her it was because we were different.

The young lady started to leave all of our stuff out of the bag and my daughter asked me if she was going to keep our things. I told my daughter that they were going to put our things back just as they found them, and the young lady came back to the table and begrudingly put everything back. Charles found a mostly empty sippy cup that had about an ounce and a half of juice left in it. He told me that we were not going to be able to take that on board, and I took it from him to give to my daughter to finish. I accidentally poured it out on the carpet, and apologized for my clumsiness. I asked for some paper towels and I sopped it up.

After getting all of this done, we were free to go. On the way out, I asked to talk to Rick, and he came over. I told him that I was grateful that no one had touched my daughter, and I thanked him for Charles' conduct on handling this matter. He then told me that if I just go get some ID, then this would not be an issue in the future. I thanked him, and told him that I did not see that I was required to have ID in order to have rights, and that this was the land of my birth. I then made a point of telling him that this is between you and me and I do not intend to alarm anyone else, but if we were simply allowed to carry our personal firearms on board, then none of this farce would be necessary.

You can agree or disagree with me on my beliefs or the manner in which I handled the situation, but I am going to continue to exercise my rights, so that you will not lose yours.