GUWonder

Yes, but the OP's matter has less to do with ownership of the airport in question than with the interaction between government employees and a private citizen over the citizen's written words that are a protected form of political expression under the Constitution.

If private screeners did this, the case would be more of a stretch. But we have government screeners at government-sanctioned facility in this case harassing someone for their written, legal political opinions.

GUWonder

"Kip Hawley is an idiot" is nothing like screaming "fire" in a crowded theater. "Kip Hawley is an idiot" is an expression of political opinion protected by the Constitution; screaming "fire" in a crowded theater is not. If you think they are the same thing, perhaps you'd like to remake the Supreme Court in your own image?

If everyone checked in things the way you seem to recommend, then you'd have to wait an extra hour or more when arriving or departing from a major airport or pay a lot more money to travel. Do you favor wasting even more of your time and money when traveling by plane? If such opinion (i.e. favoring increased costs in time and money for air travel) finds more quarter, the airlines and their employees will pay the price. Is that what you want?

BenjaminNYC

Huh? By your extention, if I go through security with a bumper sticker on by backpack saying "George Bush is an idiot", I also deserve such treatment? After all, Bush is, by extension, Mr. Hawley's boss. Yeah, I guess that freedom of expression thing is a real pain in the ***! Let's get rid of it!

(This coming from a conservative, right-winged American.)

kuerious

Horsepuckey. As an American citizen, you are NEVER required to present identification to an officer except (a) when stopped while driving, and (b) when arrested, you must give your name and address. Where did you get that steamin' heap-a-load? This isn't the USSR, or any other country for that matter.Read about personal rights when involved with the police here.
Wrong. For one, its not the airports that are given "leeway" by any measure, but the TSA itself. Specifically, quote, "FAA has sole authority to control and restrict aircraft operations, and only in their role as airport owners can state and local governments exercise some control over aviation operations at airports. However, state and local governments exercise other controls that affect airport use and capacity." Read about the Aviation and Transportation Security Act and see for yourself what these rights are. Get the facts straight. With the exception of a handful of private security agencies that are contracted by the TSA, only the Federal TSA has these rights, and those are limited to the scope of their federally-mandated responsibilities. See the bill itself if you want to nitpick it: http://ntl.bts.gov/faq/avtsa.html
Now this is partly true, but its scope is very limited. You have the right to answer no questions at all, even if this may make a policeman suspicious. Police can only pat you down (outside of everything, not going into pockets) if they suspect you have a weapon, but nothing more. You cannot be arrested for not having identification, except if you are driving without a license. Even if arrested, you are only required to give your full name and address, and have the right to say nothing more without a lawyer or public defender present. In fact, you can ask the officer, "Am I free to leave?" If the officer says, "No," assume that you are under arrest, which you then have a right to ask why. If the officer says, "Yes," you can leave. Other than these things, you should not agree to speak with police or answer any other questions, even if arrested. This is a person's right under the law. Again, go here and see what our rights under the law really are before quoting.
As I said above, under no law (except under aforementioned, specific circumstances) must you EVER have to provide identification for yourself for any reason. Even at the TSA's own website , there is no mention that they can either have you arrested or detain you if you do not have government-issued identification. At most, they say, quote, "The absence of proper identification will result in additional screening ." Where on Earth do you think that a policeman can take and run your fingerprints if they want to identify you? You must be addicted to CSI to think that fingerprinting is some sort of common method of identification. Look it up - most police stations charge people to be fingerprinted for identification purposes, unless a criminal suspect where the identify must be confirmed.
I have searched and searched, and find nowhere (city, state, federal) that a policeman needs your address in order to file a report. If you file a report with the police, you can leave your address with them and ask to receive a copy of the police report, or you can report an incident at your address, or if the report involves a followup visit by police, you will have to leave your address with them. However, I have yet to find anywhere that you have to leave your address specifically so a police officer can "file a report." Do you have any proof of this claim? In this case, unless the person was being arrested, no address is needed by any person - officer or TSA.

I swear to ______, people, rights are being treated as toilet paper these days. The sad part is that those of us whom believed, or thought, or were told, or were taught that we had rights are being convinced that (a) we don't have them, so don't fight; (b) that the rights are somehow damaging or against some "common good", or (c) aren't important, for whatever reason; all this so a person or group can make some sort of point about something. I have worked in all forms of government in my lifetime [paged for senators as a teenager, worked for a few State departments, 9 years as an Army soldier, and even for the Department of The Interior; proof.offered if challenged]. Some would think that I would be a boon for what is being done BY the government here. On the contrary, I am not. ONLY THE PEOPLE - as in, "We The People," - can earn, protect, demonstrate, and maintain rights under the laws of those officials we allow to be sworn or brought into office. And only WE can sit back and not protect OUR rights. These are not the Government's rights to do with as they please; they are bound to uphold the laws, to judge on these laws, and to help bring laws into power. WE are bound by our own agreement to live in this country to DECIDE on laws, to CHANGE those laws we do not like, and to CREATE new laws in agreement as a country.

Those of you who deny it, are those we all must avoid. Fear should only ever be an "initial" reaction, an in-between of action and a resolve. It should never be an environment to live in. And we are the only ones who can change that. Awareness is the first step, people. Start making an effort to become aware, and the rest follows easily (even if its difficult.) Its an ongoing struggle to earn the right to be Americans. There's no big win to it anymore; you have to work at it every day.

FWAAA

I doubt that any of the 429 or so USA airports where screening occurs are not owned by some unit of government, either a city (like ORD) or a county or an airport authority. Do you have any examples of airports in the USA that are privately owned?

chi1k

The TSA's response to actual written characters on a plastic bag is due to a recent discussion they discovered on a jihadist website. Someone there had written that "the pen is mightier than the sword." The TSA is not sure what this means but their initial reaction was to assume the jihdists had developed a new exploding ink. So now they are weary of anything with hand written characters.

BenjaminNYC

ANYTHING for security!!!!!!!!!!!!

PhlyingRPh

I'm sorry, did I miss the part where someone might have proposed we show solidarity with the OP by going through checkpoints with "Kip Hawley is an Idiot" written in Sharpie pen on our zip-loc bags?

etch5895

BAA runs Indianapolis (or did until recently). I'm not sure if they own the airport as well. They still presumably have TSA agents doing the personal security piece.

FWAAA

Welcome to Flyertalk.

Could you give us a list (it need not be exhaustive) of some other forbidden topics - things you think citizens should not talk about at airports or airplanes under threat of punishment? I need to know the topics you or similar people might believe is worthy of arrest, since I was misinformed that the US Constitution protects nearly all speech everywhere (save the obvious exceptions, like fire in a theatre or an explicit threat).

If you think "Kip Hawley is an idiot" is analogous to shouting "fire" in a crowded theatre, I can't help you. Even our helpful resident TSA employee here thought the screener, supervisor and deputy all crossed the line.

Spiff

The reason no one checks bags is because the airlines take too long to return them to the passengers at their destinations and take little to no responisbility for their contents. Moreover, the TSA's policy of "Leave it unlocked or we may break in. Trust us." is one that should appeal only to fools or to people who don't care about the contents of their luggage. I dunno about you, but anything I take the time to pack carefully and then haul down to the airport is stuff I'd like to see again and promptly after I've landed. Maybe you think differently or are independently wealthy.

ok. had to get that out too.

BenjaminNYC

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First Post! ^

LessO2

So we should focus only on what the 9/11 bad guys did?

That's aviation and aviation security's problem, it's too reactive and not proactive.

FWAAA

IND contracts with BAA to manage the airport - BAA certainly does not own it nor does its management somehow cause IND to be a nonpublic place. IND is owned by the Indianapolis Airport Authority. It's still as public a place as the courthouse. And there's even still places at IND where you don't have to submit to screening to access, unlike the courthouse.

Next.

pgtravel

The end of this doc has information for many airports in the tables toward the back. Granted, it's a little old, but it'll still do the trick.

I know that BUR is privately owned and it may be the largest in the US that is.