Texas state officials groped by the TSA
Channel: brklynmd3
Date: 20/06/2011

High-ranking Texas officials groped by agents with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) are sounding off about the scandal in the press, adding more pressure on state lawmakers and Gov. Rick Perry to resurrect a bill criminalizing the invasive measures without probable cause.   In May, it appeared likely that the Texas anti-groping legislation would succeed. After unanimously sailing through the state House of Representatives, the bill was on its way to passage in the Texas Senate. Originally it had more than enough support to pass. Chairman of the Texas Public Utilities Commission Barry Smitherman tells about the "aggressive" TSA groping he received recently as well as the admission by a TSA supervisor that he was being "punished" for opting out. Texas State Rep. Barbara Nash recounts her own groping experience and concern for her constituents. Fox 7 Austin's Camille Williams reports. Incidents such as those described by the state officials were exactly the sort of  problem that the wildly popular anti-TSA bill was supposed to remedy. In the absence of probable cause, such behavior could have landed TSA workers in jail. The bill would have criminalized "intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly touching the anus, sexual organ, buttocks, or breast of the other person, including touching through clothing, or touching the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person by federal agents."