Decius wrote:
Can you fly without ID? According to what the government told the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in the Gilmore case, you can – you need only submit to secondary screening in order to fly anonymously.
Please try doing some or all of your travel by declining to show ID and report back about what happens to you.
If you have some time on your hands and some big ass balls in your pants there is a significant legal issue here you can contribute to. All you have to do is go to an airport and try to get on a plane without showing ID. They aren't supposed to arrest you for trying this...
You ought to be able to travel freely without identifying yourself to the government. Totalitarian regimes have used secret laws in the past to control the free association of people. I'm sure that these travel restrictions were limited to the necessary protection of the national security interests of their respective states. Subversive people associating with eachother is a national security issue. We presently have a secret list of subversive people who are prohibited from flying and an ID requirement for flight. Is this list being abused? Who is on the list? Why are people put on the list? Almost nobody knows.
The 9th circuit is saying that its really not a problem because there really is no ID requirement and you can just get on planes so long as you are willing to allow them to search you for weapons. I had no idea! I'll bet TSA's agents don't know this either.
TSA cannot sit in court and say you don't need an ID to fly, and then put signs all over airports saying that you do need ID to fly and refuse to let people fly without ID. They either need to defend their ID requirement in court or actually not have one.
If you can't get on a plane without showing ID, TSA is lying.
Anyone want to put some meat on this? Southwest flights are fairly cheap, and I've got an attorney friend or two who might be interested in coming along for a ride.
