Ron Paul (R-TX) on Thursday introduced the American Traveler Dignity Act, proposed legislation that would “protect Americans from physical and emotional abuse by federal Transportation Security Administration employees conducting screenings at the nation’s airports.”
Paul believes that airline security should be privatized, but he stressed that it shouldn’t be a situation where the same screeners work for a private firm under the guidance of the federal government, but rather, a fully privatized operation in which the airlines are “once again in charge of protecting their property and their passengers.” Paul said his proposed bill is a step in that direction.
“Many Americans continue to fool themselves into accepting TSA abuses by saying ‘I don’t mind giving up my freedoms for security.’ In fact, they are giving up their liberties and not receiving security in return,” said Paul, who cited the recent case of a Nigerian immigrant who successfully boarded a plane from New York to LA without proper identification as just one instance where the current system failed.
The proposed legislation would establish “that any federal employee or agency or any individual or entity that receives Federal funds are not immune from any US law regarding physical contact with another person, making images of another person, or causing physical harm through the use of radiation-emitting machinery on another person.”
