I am amazed. Although I am not a lawyer, I was required to take some law classes for my degree.
I agree that TSA appears to have ignored the Constitution.
FYI - I also spent 10 years in the military.
TSORon, I respect your service to our country. However, during your swearing in, you swore to defend the Constitution of the United States. At least I did, every time I re-enlisted.
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.
The UCMJ provides specific guidance concerning lawful orders.
The 4th Amendment is very clear. The search(es) you perform is administrative.
Routinely, TSA finds my pocket knife, which I always carry with me. It is in the tub along with everything else that I take out of my pockets to prevent the metal detector from beeping. I am then escorted back around. I return to my truck and secure my knife. I have carried it for over 20 years. Like my wedding band, I feel naked without it. I am a frequent flier on commercial airlines and also a pilot.
My time in the military taught me many things. One of them was the difference between military and civilian life. In fact, I have told many that I would rather be arrested on-base than off. Things in the military were very structured and tended to be black and white. Although I was never arrested, I knew exactly what to expect from the SP's. I also knew that my CO would press for discipline, if an SP was out of line.
You ask for specifics. They were given. Yet, your responses are not direct and fail to provide any 3rd party support for your position.
Could we just address the shoe removal issue? Let's limit the discussion to that topic.
Regarding shoe removal, you have responded, but not defended TSA's position.
"Name other countries that require passengers to remove their shoes for X-ray prior to boarding a flight? This cannot include countries that require shoe inspection when flying to the United States. I doubt if you can name five. Countries like Israel, France, Germany, England, Spain, and Italy have all had past or current problems with terrorists and yet they don’t have this poorly designed policy." - magellan315
You never answered his question, yet it should be easy to defeat. Locate another country that has been attacked by terrorists AND requires shoe removal. Locate a web site and quote (or link to it) in your response.
If magellan315 is correct and we are the only country that requires this, then challenging TSA's position is warranted. We share the same intelligence. Why are
they not requiring shoe removal?
The question is simple and straight forward. Please answer.
I do have an answer:
"I believe that TSA continues this dance to avoid being challenged in other areas. If they stopped requiring the removal of shoes, then the public might expect them to stop gate searches."