New Hampshire Moves to Criminalize TSA Grope-down Procedures

New Hampshire may soon criminalize the TSA’s intrusive pat-downs and naked body porno scanners as sexual assault.

Debate has moved forward on HB628-FN, a bill that would make “the touching or viewing with a technological device of a person’s breasts or genitals by a government security agent without probable cause a sexual assault,” according to WMUR in Manchester.

“Let’s put their name on the sex offender registry, and maybe that will tell them New Hampshire means business,” said bill co-sponsor Rep. Andrew Manuse, R-Derry.

“That is a crime in this state, and we should charge them every single time,” added bill co-sponsor Rep. George Lambert, R-Litchfield.

TSA officials did not comment on the legislation. They insist so-called airport security checkpoints are under federal jurisdiction. “We have to understand that if things need to be changed, they have to be done at the federal level, not the state level,” said Democrat Rep. Laura Pantelakos.

In November, a California district attorney said he would charge TSA agents with sexual assault if they conducted the new pat-down procedures in his state.

“TSA does not have any special immunity from everybody else,” said Steve Wagstaffe, San Mateo County’s chief deputy district attorney. “If an employee of TSA inappropriately touches the privates of another person, and they do so with a sexual or lewd intent, then that’s either a misdemeanor (if it’s over the clothing) or a felony crime (possible when touching the skin).”

TSA grope-down behavior gained national attention when flier John Tyner told TSA agents “don’t touch my junk.” Tyner secretly recorded his TSA pat down experience on his iPhone. After the computer programmer refused to fly and obtained a ticket refund, TSA officials ordered him to return to the security inspection to complete his screening. Tyner was later threatened with a $10,000 fine for refusing to be sexually abused by the federal government.

Outraged citizens organized a national opt-out day in response to the TSA’s new grope and sexual abuse procedures.

“Groping, naked X-Ray scans, and invasive searches by government bureaucrats — probably not what you had in mind as part of your holiday travels,” Congressman Bob Barr of Liberty Guard wrote as the campaign kicked off prior to Thanksgiving. “Like many Americans, you might even be having second thoughts about flying this holiday season to avoid these invasions to your privacy at our nation’s airports.”

In response to the campaign, the TSA deactivated many naked body porno scanners around the country and waived sexual assault grope-down procedures.

“Considering recent hardline statements made by DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano and TSA Administrator John Pistole, this apparent sudden reversal in the TSA’s direction warrants additional scrutiny,” said Joe Seehussen, President of Liberty Guard. “We’d like to know if we can expect a policy shift from the TSA or if they were merely attempting to shut down the public outcry regarding their search procedures.”