Darwin wrote:

] As a die-hard Constitutionalist, I believe that we still have
] an absolute, unfettered, God-given right to travel from point
] A to point B without permission from the state -- in the air,
] as well as on land. This Nazi procedure of "your papers,
] please" has never been appropriate for our country. I have had
] occasion to travel a good deal in the last several months, and
] on those trips I decided to research and test this issue about
] the necessity for producing identification. I have talked with
] agents, and their supervisors, of several major airlines in
] cities across America, and have gradually pieced together a
] rather complete picture of the real legal situation regarding
] our right to travel.

I also have the occasion to travel quite often, and am a close observer of airport security measures. Over the last 20 years, I have kept a journal of each airport I pass through, and jotted down notes about all kinds of miscellany, such as what type of aircraft that I fly on, how many other passengers there are, what kind of safety briefing takes place (on Cathay Pacific the stewardesses do a kind of choreographed "aloha" dance while they're demonstrating the oxygen masks), what kinds of special security I had to go through at the airport, and other miscellany.

Let me say up front that personally, I don't have a problem with showing my ID. But I have found it fascinating to see how different airports across the country have adopted different variations of security procedures since September 11th. Even when traveling through different airports on the same day, I'd run into vastly different "federal requirements" in each location. For example, in one airport I'd be required to take off my shoes, in another I wouldn't. On one route, if I was traveling in one direction I'd be required to pass through a metal detector and have my bags checked with the new "chemical pad" detector, but traveling in the other direction I didn't even have to pass through a metal detector to board the aircraft, and so forth.

Most recently (last week) I observed that Chicago O'Hare and St. Louis Lambert airports were stating that ID did *not* need to be shown to board an aircraft, but in Syracuse Airport, it was still a requirement. And *all* airports that I passed through last week still required that ID be shown to pass through the initial security checkpoint where the carry-ons are x-rayed. Interestingly, at St. Louis Lambert airport, I had to show ID not once but *twice* at the same security checkpoint -- Once when I first got into line, and again at the *end* of the line, right before I went through the detectors (there were only 3 people in line, too). But at that same airport, I *didn't* have to show ID as I boarded the aircraft -- I just needed to give them my boarding pass.

Taking a step back from all of it though, I have to say that I really don't care that much about the ID requirement, **as long as the search takes place**. To have someone sitting next to me on a plane whose name we're not sure of? I can deal with that. To have someone sitting next to me on the plane who raised a fuss and so his bags were never searched or x-rayed? *That* I have a problem with.

As for whether or not it's a "right" to fly without showing papers, I disagree. I do believe we absolutely have a right to travel around our country freely, without showing ID, as long as we're under our own power, such as walking or driving or boating. If I routinely had to show ID each time I drove across a state line, I agree, I would chafe at that and start grumbling "police state."

But in terms of security at airports? I agree with the sign that is posted at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, which, to the best of my recollection, says: "Passengers wishing to fly are not required to submit to search of their persons or belongings. Such search may be refused, in which case the airlines have the right to refuse to allow the individual to board the aircraft."

How to fly without ID!