Everyone loves going on vacation, but not everyone loves going to the airport. This is mainly because of the long, winding security lines, the trouble of taking off your shoes and belt and taking out all liquids, and the fear of being questioned or detained by the TSA. The TSA stands for the Transportation Security Administration, and they’re the ones who make airport life less than pleasant. According to their website, the “TSA was created to strengthen the security of the nation’s transportation systems and ensure the freedom of movement for people and commerce” (tsa.gov). The TSA was founded on November 19th, 2001 in response to the tragedy of September 11th. They were created to make sure nothing as severe as the Twin Towers ever happened …show more content…
In Andrea Simbro’s article The Sky’s the Limit: A Modern Approach to Airport Security, she asked, “At what point does the government cross the line between protecting national security and invading individual privacy interests?” (564). There are two rights in play regarding airport security: the right against unreasonable searches and seizures, and the right to privacy. The Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution states, “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated” (Simbro 566). One way around this right is to gain consent from said passenger being searched, but most people are either afraid of what will happen if they refuse, or they aren’t aware of that particular rights. The Constitution states that for a government official to search a person, they must have a warrant based on probable cause. Regarding the privacy right, the US Supreme Court has, “…recognized the right to privacy as one of the un-enumerated rights that exists in the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments” (Taylor 508). However, in the article Touched by an Agent by Courteney L Taylor, she wrote, “…rights seem to vanish as airport security personnel take photographs of passengers’ naked bodies, conduct aggressive pat-downs, and dig through their baggage” (508). The average traveler doesn’t usually know their specific rights, and therefore it’s difficult to know what they can and can’t allow when it comes to the