Senator Refuses TSA Patdown

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was stopped at Nashville International Airport on Monday after triggering an alarm while going through airport security. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) official at the checkpoint wanted to give him a patdown, but he refused. He has charged the agency with detaining him after objecting to the search on privacy grounds, which the agency has denied.

Rand says that officials told him that an alarm in a walk-in scanner was triggered by his knee and that they refused his request to go through the scanner again. He wasn’t allowed to leave when he refused the patdown, until they tired of him. He’s not against the rules, but he thinks the officials need to have common sense, he added.

The TSA says that, after Rand refused the patdown, security escorted him out of the area. He missed his flight from Nashville to Washington but was rebooked and rescrenned later without incident.

Now Ron Paul, Rand’s father and a US presidential candidate, has accused security personnel of being part of a police state that is out of control. He says the TSA grabs and gropes children and seniors but doesn’t do anything to keep the public safe.

The TSA handles security for all of the US’s transport systems, but it has sparked controversy at airports in recent years due to its security measures. It was created after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 – when al-Qaeda hijacked three US planes. Over 650 million passengers fly on US carriers, and most use one of the over 400 airports where security checkpoints are operated by TSA officials. The main problems that people have with the agency are the patdowns and full-body scanners, which they believe to be too invasive.

Rand Paul and his father have helped lead the opposition against excessive federal intrusion, ranging from body searches to healthcare. Last June, Rand challenged TSA Administrator John Pistole over the random patdowns of airport travellers, including an instance of a 6-year-old girl being put through one at a Kentucky airport.

Rand said that they believe in safety procedures, but he thinks he feels less safe with the invasive exams on children. It makes him think the officials are clueless to think a kid is going to attack the country rather than do research on the people who would. He recommends that officials get rid of patdowns as part of everyday security and focus more on non-invasive methods to assess risks. He has also complained that it’s poor use of security resources to screen Congress members and frequent fliers known to airlines and security authorities.

Meanwhile, Ron has called for the TSA to be scrapped on the grounds that it’s a waste of taxpayer funds and violates personal freedom. The TSA defends its security measures, saying they are needed to ensure the safety of passengers. But is had to apologise to two elderly female travellers last week for the inspection of one’s colostomy bag and putting the other’s back brace in the x-ray machine.