Titled the Travelers' Dignity Act, the bill would make TSA agents liable for sexual assault when groping passengers without probable cause in their invasive airport searches. The bill was shot down near the end of the regular Texas legislative session when federal agents threatened to cancel all flights into and out of Texas if it was passed, and Texas Senators responded by withdrawing support from the measure — incurring the wrath of constituents scorned. When the Governor called a special session for other matters, an opportunity presented itself to resurrect the bill.
Wesley Strackbein, whose grassroots organization TSA Tyranny is dedicated to stopping TSA abuses, asked Governor Perry about the bill this past weekend, while the Governor was signing his new book Fed Up in New Orleans. At the time, Perry claimed that there wasn’t enough time to get the bill into the agenda of the special session. Then on Sunday, bill sponsor Rep. David Simpson, in an open letter to Perry, appealed to the Governor’s sentiments against Washington's overreach as outlined in Perry's book, and called for him to take a stand on behalf of Texans — and all Americans — who are subjected to extreme indignities at the hands of the TSA.
Today, the Governor’s office issued his statement, which reads in part,
NOW, THEREFORE, I, RICK PERRY, Governor of the State of Texas, by the authority vested in me by Article IV, Section 8, and Article III, Section 40, of the Texas Constitution, do hereby present the following subject matter to the Eighty-Second Texas Legislature, First Called Session, for consideration:
Legislation relating to prosecution and punishment for the offense of official oppression of persons seeking access to public buildings and transportation.
The bill, originally introduced as HB 1937 in the House, will move forward in the special session as HB 41 (SB 29 in the Senate).
The Tenth Amendment Center posted news that more than 10 other states can be expected to join in similar legislation in their 2012 sessions; however, because the Texas Legislature won’t meet again until 2013, Lone Star State constitutionalists are urging that it is critical that HB 41 / SB 29 be passed now. They are calling on Governor Perry to give meaning once again to the motto, “Don’t Mess with Texas.”
Photo: Governor Rick Perry
Related articles:
Texas Gov. Stalls on Calling Up Anti-TSA Bill to Special Session
Texas Officials Groped by TSA as Anti-TSA Bill Makes Comeback
