Under new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules, passengers are required to go through whole-body imaging systems. But because some people believe the technology is too invasive -- some passengers have likened the images to "pornographic undressings" -- TSA officials give people the option of passing through a metal detector or receiving a pat-down.
The pat-down in particular became immediately unpopular, some passengers claiming they felt as if they'd been groped.
"Never again," said Ayola Lampier. "Never, never never."
Lampier, a 48-year-old New York City hairdresser visiting relatives in Tallahassee, told Sunshine State News, "(A TSA employee) touched me very, very improperly, and when I turned around to walk away, I heard her sniggering to someone.
"It was a terrible experience."
But TSA officials continue to defend the new technology, insisting it's so thorough it would have thwarted the suspected Christmas Day bomber who allegedly "hid an explosive device in his underwear."
In response to a crescendo of anger nationwide about new pat-downs, and with heavy bookings scheduled over the Thanksgiving holiday, TSA chief John Pistole told the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee that the new search methods are vital to keep travelers and airports safe.
Pistole also said the equipment had been developed to "stay ahead" of potential terrorist plots.
There is an ever-evolving nature to terrorist plots, Pistole told the committee. It is clear we have to be one step ahead of the terrorists and [its] obvious that we are not always in that situation as evidenced by the last three plots that could have been successful.
If we have an individual who opts out of the advanced imaging technology, lets say Abdulmutallab had opted out, thinking [hes] not going to receive a thorough pat-down so [he could] get on that flight, and if that had been successful on Christmas Day, I think we might be having a different dialogue this afternoon and in the public."
As early as last Tuesday, Republican Reps. Jason Chaffetz of Utah and Joe Wilson of South Carolina were calling on the House to take a close look to see if there might be a better way make sure peoples privacy is respected.
In a stinging opinion piece in Saturday morning's Salt Lake City Tribune, Connor Boyack of the Utah County Campaign for Liberty, wrote this about the new TSA procedures:
"Children and seniors are not exempt, nor are disabled persons, former victims of rape or sexual abuse, or cancer survivors whose radiation intake has already reached a maximum. All must submit to the TSAs invasions.
"So much for liberty. America, once the land of the free and home of the brave, is now an elaborate system where rights are dictated into oblivion by federal bureaucrats, and individuals are not permitted to engage in commerce without either being turned into pornography or groped by a stranger."
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Lane Wright can be reached at lane@sunshinestatenews.com or at (561) 247-1063. Nancy Smith, at nsmith@sunshinestatenews.com or (850) 727-0859, contributed to this report.
