TSA Threatens to Shut Down All Texas Air Travel

[bnc]

What a shame, I'd love to see the TSA try to enforce it. Time to call state senators.

[blue]

Come on Texas stand up NOW!
(THIS IS A BIT MORE IMPORTANT THAN NOODLING CATFISH.)
Pass it AND ENFORCE IT! ASAP!

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Just how do TSA defend a POLICY TO GROPE children? Its already ILLEGAL most places
Or feds to pass a grope children law?

Seems like political suicide.

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We have got to clean house in Nov!
------Vote ALL the bums OUT.-----

[OldSchool]

United State Of Texas- Just saying

I believe it would properly be called The Republic of Texas.

Forget about it. The online press has already picked up on the purport of this. Texas has no respect now, for real. Everyone will now walk over us, as did the Bradies and TSA. Sorry for the negatives, but this outcome is bigger than it would have seemed. All hat, no cattle.

[bnc]

Just got off the phone with my Senator's Austin office:

Me: "I'd like to comment on a recent bill that was moving through the senate."
Staffer: "Let me guess, the TSA bill..."

So apparently there has been plenty of phone calls about this, and she said Alex Jones had a bit of a rally going outside and was making plenty of noise (as usual). We had a friendly chat and she seemed to be on the right side of this but didn't have the latest opinion of my senator.

[Slowplay]

Senate sponsor Dan Patrick (R-Houston) pulled the bill:

“I will pull HB 1937 down, but I will stand for Liberty in the state of Texas,” Patrick said.

Patrick added that TSA officials had warned him passing the bill “could close down all the airports in Texas,” which he regarded as a ‘heavy handed threat’ by the federal government.

The staff of Rep. David Simpson said the DOJ had “thrown down the gauntlet” in using such stark language to oppose the bill.

Wouldn't standing for "Liberty" be NOT pulling the bill? If this bill was passed, the TSA gropers (federal employees) would have effective immunity to the State law (making it mostly symbolic). I would have called their bluff and get/keep the TSA groping debate going.

I can't believe they would pull this bill in reaction to the bullying by the feds. That's weak.

[hirundo82]

Some state really needs to man up and tell the feds to shove it, whether over this issue or another. The DOJ has been getting really heavy-handed with the states recently--concerns over federal prosecution of state employees led the Washington governor to veto a medical marijuana bill a week or two ago.

[ScottDLS]

The ever expanding police power of the national government has been an issue dating at least to Prohibtion and arguably to Reconstruction. Also, the US Attorney's letter was heavy handed and is a thinly veiled bluff. The legislation wouldn't have taken effect until 9/1/2011 with plenty of time to get a stay of its enforcement from a federal judge. Additionally the TSA & US Attorney are bluffing because Texas could very easily get an injunction (in Federal court) to block the TSA from this action while this issue was being litigated.

That said...I have posted from the beginning that this bill was a bad idea. It is a clear violation of the supremacy clause of the US constitution. Some may pine for the days of the Republic and the Confederacy (I don't), but the bill would have accomplished nothing since it was going to be struck down anyway. I think the TSA pat downs are ridiculous and open to challenge on 4th amendment grounds, but it is established precedent that States may not interfere with Federal officials performing constitutionally authorized duties. If you want to argue that pat downs are not constitutional, you have to fight it at the Federal level on 4th amendment grounds or maybe 10th amendment grounds (i.e. Argue Feds are not authorized to regulate the security of air travel...that's a tough sell, especially interstate).

Now we've taken "precious" legislative time to mess with this, that could have been spent on Campus Carry or Parking Lot Bill....I mean goodness, we barely sneaked Noodling through...

[stevie_d_64]

Senate sponsor Dan Patrick (R-Houston) pulled the bill:

“I will pull HB 1937 down, but I will stand for Liberty in the state of Texas,” Patrick said.

Patrick added that TSA officials had warned him passing the bill “could close down all the airports in Texas,” which he regarded as a ‘heavy handed threat’ by the federal government.

The staff of Rep. David Simpson said the DOJ had “thrown down the gauntlet” in using such stark language to oppose the bill.

Wouldn't standing for "Liberty" be NOT pulling the bill? If this bill was passed, the TSA gropers (federal employees) would have effective immunity to the State law (making it mostly symbolic). I would have called their bluff and get/keep the TSA groping debate going.

I can't believe they would pull this bill in reaction to the bullying by the feds. That's weak.

So far, it is apparent that the GOP is not in control as it thinks it is...

I have to honestly have to say that Dan Patrick is a political coward...I am not impressed at all with his performance this session, and I believe that is a fair assessment...

Why introduce a bill, that is obviously contraversial, slaps the Feds in the face, and then pull the bill you introduced, just because someone from the Justice Department brings you a letter threatening commerce in your state???

This would have been an interesting and somewhat redeeming piece of legislation on his part, and would have been interesting to see how far the Federal government wanted to take this...

Especially after they (Texas Senate) voted themselves that little perk recently...

We are rapidly approaching a time in our countries development where civility and compramise are being thwarted by moderation and deception by the very representation we are voting into office...If you are not impressed, like I am, with the performance, then we certainly have the right to voice our displeasure personally...It doesn't have to be cleverly worded, nor delivered in some way that masks your extreme displeasure...No threat are necessary, or any threat of violence need to be insinuated either...I would not support that...

But as a voting block, we do have options...And hopefully those options will come with a memory of what has transspired over the last couple of sessions...

There are things and issues outside the 2nd Amendment that are being attacked, this is one of them...And it is such a basic "unalienable" and individual right to keep and bear arms that we lose the big picture if we focus too much on just this issue...Things like this do not go un-noticed for very long, but the necessary follow-through by the voting constituencies is downright pathetic...I would rather make a lot of people angry with me for daring to say thing like that, hoping that it is enough to have people prove me wrong, but it has not quite succeeded in comprehensive results at the polls...Sure we took a big bite out of it in November 2010, but that is apparently not enough...If we have to continue to purge those in office that are not doing things within the confines of the rules (Constitution) then we'd better start getting on the stick people...Everyday something seems to come out that enrages the conservative sensibilities of some of us, and we need to all step up and be counted, and get others around us to be counted as well...

I do not carry a grudge or ill will towards friends, nieghbors and elected officials who are of a liberal bent, I do whole heartedly have diametrically opposite opinion and other differences with them...But at the end of the day they are still Americans, my nieghbors, friends and co-workers...I cannot moderate or soften my position on issues because that would compramise my principles, and that is something no one should ever do...But there are too many elected officials that do so, and that threatens the very people that at one time supported them...And I do not believe any constituency should have to put up with that any longer...

Anyway, this is just another rant from someone who probably doesn't deserve anyones time reading my diatribe...

I just feel better getting it out, because maybe, I would like to be proven wrong on all of this...Who knows...Someone may have a beter idea on this than I do...

Because it is just not making any sense to me to continue tolerating the moderation and destruction of our basic rights as citizens of this state and country if this is the direction they are taking us...It is time we need to wrestle it back...

Just my opinion...

[Beiruty]

Don't Texas have Sexual Assult law? Sure. Look it up. It is a felony too. Fondling (touching private parts) of a child is a felony.

[ScottDLS]

Don't Texas have Sexual Assult law? Sure. Look it up. It is a felony too. Fondling (touching private parts) of a child is a felony.

Yes, that's the law that the bill was trying to amend to make it clear that it applied to TSA. Idaho has a law against murder and tried to invoke it in Ruby Ridge case, but ultimately lost to the Feds.

[Winchster]

Come on. We can't seriously cave in to a threat from the big bad fed. It's not like anyone In Washington would have the courage to shutdown air travel into or out of texas. Call their bluff.

[baldeagle]

I never thought I'd see the day when Remember the Alamo became a question instead of a battle cry.

[Jasonw560]

“There was a time in this state, there was a time in our history, where we stood up to the federal government and we did not cower to rules and policies that invaded the privacy of Texans,”

We need that time back.

Need a Gonzales flag with am airplane in the middle.

Long live The Republic of Texas!!!

[Jeff Barriault]

We don't need another law. Groping (sexual assault) is already a crime. We just need some sheriffs with enough balls to go in and arrest a few TSA agents. Sheriffs take an oath to uphold and protect the Constitution's of Texas and the US. They need to take that oath seriously and stick up for the rest of us when the Feds do something that is clearly unconstitutional. The US Constitution guarantees that we are safe from unreasonable search. When was the last time a mom, child, grandparent, or US citizen with a non-Muslim name blew up a plane? Um . . . let's see . . . that would be NEVER. Is it reasonable to be searching anyone other than Muslim males between the ages of 18-40? No! Maybe, just maybe, it is time for our local sheriffs to step up and uphold their oath and arrest some of these TSA agents for violating our constitutional rights. No additional laws are needed for that. Just a few decent men who will step up and do what is right.

[Jasonw560]

We just need some sheriffs with enough balls to go in and arrest a few TSA agents.

We need to bring Sheriff Joe Arpaio in here. He'd have no problem arresting them.