Do you think TSA officials should be armed? THUMBS UP FOR YES........THUMBS DOWN FOR NO

CW2 Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:05:08 -0500

After the shooting that occurred at LAX, do you think it is necessary to arm the <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Transportation Security Administration officials? </span><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">THUMBS UP FOR YES........THUMBS DOWN FOR NO</span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">And explain why.</span></div>

Response by CMC Robert Young made Nov 4 at 2013 4:08 PM

CMC Robert Young — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:08:16 -0500

If it's law enforcement why wouldn't they carry weapons?

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Nov 4 at 2013 4:52 PM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 04 Nov 2013 16:52:01 -0500

From Wiki - Transportation Security Officers (TSOs), often referred to as screeners or agents. They screen people and property and control entry and exit points in airports. They also watch several areas before and beyond checkpoints. TSOs carry no weapons, and are not permitted to use force, nor do they have the power to arrest.

Due to the fact they don't have police training, weapons training, or arrest powers I would have to give it a thumbs down.

Response by SFC James Baber made Dec 24 at 2013 11:16 PM

SFC James Baber — Tue, 24 Dec 2013 23:16:03 -0500

That would be a big thumbs down, just what we don't need more untrained personnel carrying firearms they can't use or know how to respect.

Response by SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 28 at 2014 7:34 PM

SSG(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 28 Jan 2014 19:34:12 -0500

I think that the TSA is largely useless. They are NOT law enforcement and they have to call the police in order to arrest anyone. That is why you always see cops at airports.

According to the information I got through their FOIA contact, they have not caught a SINGLE terrorist in their entire existence with the exception of the shoe-bomber in December of 2001. Even then, all they did was take him off the plane. The passengers did all of the work.

They are also arguably unconstitutional. Unless being searched in order to get in a vehicle is a "reasonable search". If someone says it is "reasonable", I ask them why I don't get searched when I ride a bus, get in a taxi, get on a train, or a vacation cruise. It is because it would be considered unreasonable.

I understand that they are a deterent, but you could have actual law enforcement do the searches if you must have searches. I, for one, make their lives as difficult as I possibly can when I go through a screening. I don't like my rights being violated, just so that I can travel in a more convienient manner.

Just my $0.02

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Apr 26 at 2015 1:18 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Sun, 26 Apr 2015 13:18:33 -0400

I have a big problem with the TSA, I feel they take too many liberties as it is, they don't need firearms. I've read some horrible things that TSA agents have done like body searching a 4 yr old.

Response by PFC Eric Minchey made Apr 28 at 2015 9:30 AM

PFC Eric Minchey — Tue, 28 Apr 2015 09:30:03 -0400

The Fourth Amendment to the U.S Constitution guarantees the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects against unreasonable searches and seizures. The United States Supreme Court has held that the right to travel from one state to another is not a mere conditional liberty subject to regulation and control under conventional due process or equal protection standards, but a right broadly assertable against private interference, as well as governmental action, and a virtually unconditional personal right guaranteed by the Constitution (Shapiro v Thompson 394 U.S.); The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has deployed advance imaging technology requiring a traveler to either submit to a scan with the capability to capture a virtual naked image of the person or to submit to an intrusive, groping search including the touching of the individual’s genitals as a condition of travel without probable cause that the individual poses any threat; There remain significant questions about the long-term safety and effectiveness of the technology as a security devise; Refusal to submit to a body scan does not constitute probable cause to be searched; It is an appropriate role of the Congress and the governments of the several Sates to protect her citizens from the abuse of over-zealous government employees groping and abusing them without probable cause; We must urge Congress to abolish the TSA & urge the State legislatures to pass legislation to protect the rights and dignity of travelers by requiring that probable cause must be present for an individual to be searched as a condition of access to public facilities or transportation.