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3. Phil free, and the American right to travel
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Our tabling volunteers are finally home from the International Drug Policy Reform Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After politely declining to show his ID to a TSA screener, and recording the situation, Phil was arrested by Albuquerque police, held incommunicado for 34 hours, and charged with disorderly conduct, concealing his identity, disobeying a police officer, and criminal trespass. Jesse, who showed his ID, was driven in a police cruiser to the edge of the airport, dropped off, and told that he was banned from the compound for 24 hours.
We finally managed to post bail for Phil, and he and Jesse returned home last night. The guy at the Southwest Airlines desk recognized him, called him a hero, and with managerial help, provided new tickets free of charge. The story has made it onto a number of security blogs and frequent flyer forums, which have been refreshingly supportive. Thus far, we've received over two dozen online donations for Phil's bail and criminal defense. The internet bailed Phil out.
Question: What does this have to do with marijuana reform?
I (Ben) have been threatened with eviction from public parks for holding political pot posters. To me, that is a first amendment issue, not really a drug policy issue. But when I can't *speak freely* about drug policy reform, I think we have an issue that affects drug policy reform.
Americans have a right to travel freely between the states, without government interference. The United States Supreme Court has reiterated this in United States v. Wheeler (1920), stating that Americans possess a right, "inherent in citizens of all free governments," to freedom of movement, a right very much related to freedom of association and freedom of expression. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_v._Wheeler)
Similar to my pot poster analogy, I (Ben) have not flown domestically since June 2008, when TSA created a policy that basically says, "if you lose your ID and cooperate, we'll let you travel, but if you refuse to show your ID, we will restrict your travel." I believe this is a clear violation of the Wheeler case, and my right to travel freely. But, as someone who's been stuck, on a Sunday, in an airport in a distant city, unsure if I'll ever make it home, wishing I could call someone for help, quite frankly I can't handle the stress of it any more; I feel somewhat beaten by TSA and the terrorists who caused our freedoms to disappear.
For the last 18 months, I have been unable to attend political conferences because of this. I want to, but I either need to 1) quash my belief that I can travel freely without showing my papers to the federal government, 2) be ready for a battle, or 3) don't fly. I don't feel supported enough to battle, and I'm not yet willing to give up my belief in constitutional freedom of movement, so for now I choose to not fly.
I would be forever grateful to Phil if he was willing to be the test case on this, someone willing to stand up for my right to attend a political conference without identifying myself to federal agents. In my mind, it's not specifically about pot -- though he was at a drug policy conference, representing a cannabis activism group, and carrying a bunch of marijuana t-shirts -- it's about underlying freedoms which are the foundation on top of which we are able to build our activism.