The TSA web site clearly states, "You have the right to ask a Security Officer to change his/her gloves during the physical inspection of your accessible property, before performing a physical search (pat-down), or any time a Security Officer handles your footwear."
I would assume your "accessible property" starts with your boarding pass. Print out the page from the TSA website (I do every time I fly) and give it to EVERY TSA person along the way. It's their rule. They cannot dispute it or refuse it.
Another issue is infection control. As an infectious disease consultant who understands especially how children touch their clothing then put their hands in their mouths I don't want a person who has patted down 100 people and had his/her hand in somebody's pants touching any member of my family with infected gloves.
Imagine a couple of thousand innocent citizens making every agent chgange gloves between pat-downs, boarding pass inspection, touching your stuff on the x-ray macine conveyor belt. Wow! We could possibly affect change to a totally stupid policy.
You NEED the printed paper. Most TSA workers are not educated enough to know their own rules. I always expect them to ask me, "Do you want fries with that" when they check me.
We need better educated and better trained people in TSA. We need to change the rules of the game and make them know that we know the rules better than they do. Go to the TSA web site.rint the page. INsist on it.
One mistake by a TSA employee and believe me it will be......instyant pandemic.