Originally Posted by Bart

While probably making myself vulnerable to being accused as a TSA apologist, I have to agree that this article is nothing more than just inflammatory rhetoric and a bunch of scare tactics baloney.

However,

I think the bigger threat and more slippery slope is the virtually unquestionable authority we are giving our law enforcement. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for good law enforcement; however, I truly have a concern about laws designed for our "safety" that allow police officers an excuse to initiate a search. For instance, seat belt laws are passed without question; and the rationale is that police officers are checking up on us for our own good. However, this allows a police officer to stop us, initiate a search ostensibly for their own safety, all in the name of making sure we are complying with seat belt laws. To me, the wearing of seat belts is a matter of individual responsibility, including children. A person who neglected to properly secure a child with the appropriate safety harness/seat should be considered for a charge of criminal negligence. However, this shouldn't be used as an excuse for law enforcement to stop us on the road just to ensure that children are properly secured "for the sake of the children."

There are many other examples, but the trend of expanding police authority in the name of the war on terror clearly comes as the greatest example of how we are treading on the edge and perhaps beginning to slide down a slippery slope.

You always have the option to turn around and leave the checkpoint. However, once a police officer stops you, even if it's for questioning, you are vulnerable to all sorts of criminal charges, depending on how the police officer portrays/distorts/spins the incident. What may be a simple matter of asking a question could be turned into a charge of withholding evidence or being uncooperative.

No, I don't think we've become a police state nor do I think that the laws currently head us down that path. However, I do think we are at a crossroads where the potential of such abuse most certainly exists, and we have to be careful about the types of future legislation passed in our name ostensibly for our protection.