Another TSA backscatter machine story
This story’s a good one. The TSA is making US citizens pass through the backscatter machine on re-entry into their own country. Obviously the TSA didn’t think this through thoroughly enough. You can’t deny a citizen re-entry into his or her own country, which means you can’t really deny them re-entry if they don’t step through the machine. Otherwise you’re looking at false imprisonment. The most the cops can do is arrest someone for walking through without going through the machine, but that would pre-suppose that there is a law which requires people to follow the TSA’s instructions on that – and for that law to be constitutional. This led to this scenario:
This new line led to a TSA security checkpoint. You see, it is official TSA policy that people (both citizens and non-citizens alike) from international flights are screened as they enter the airport, despite the fact that they have already flown. Even before the new controversial security measures were put in place, I found this practice annoying. But now, as I looked past the 25 people waiting to get into their own country, I saw it: the dreaded Backscatter imaging machine.
Now, I’ve read a fair amount about the controversy surrounding the new TSA policies. I certainly don’t enjoy being treated like a terrorist in my own country, but I’m also not a die-hard constitutional rights advocate. However, for some reason, I was irked. Maybe it was the video of the 3-year old getting molested, maybe it was the sexual assault victim having to cry her way through getting groped, maybe it was the father watching teenage TSA officers joke about his attractive daughter. Whatever it was, this issue didn’t sit right with me. We shouldn’t be required to do this simply to get into our own country.
So, since I had nobody waiting for me at home and no connecting flight to catch, I had some free time. I decided to test my rights.
9:58pm 
