Interesting: the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee is suing to stop bag searches around the convention in Boston. Now, why would they care? Is this an instance of anti-Arab discrimination? As far as I know everyone, Nordic, Far Eastern, whatever, is being searched. Here is a question of whether individual civil rights should trump public safety concerns.
So tell me: when you saw those videos of the 9/11 hijackers passing through airport security, did you think they should have been searched more carefully? Or waved through for fear of anti-Arab discrimination?
BOSTON – Two civil rights groups filed a lawsuit in federal court to stop the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority from randomly inspecting passengers’ bags, saying it’s an unconstitutional violation of personal privacy.
A judge scheduled an emergency hearing for Tuesday in the case filed by the National Lawyers Guild and the American Anti-Discrimination Committee.
The random inspections began Thursday, just in time for the Democratic National Convention this week at Boston’s FleetCenter. The policy is the first of its kind in the country.
The groups say the searches violate the Fourth Amendment because they don’t require information that the person searched is suspected of criminal activity. They’ve urged customers not to consent to the searches.
“There is no way the MBTA can implement this policy in a constitutional manner,” said National Lawyers Guild national president Michael Avery.
MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo said the bags aren’t opened. Instead, they are run through a machine that detects explosives. Pesaturo said so far no one has objected to having their bags inspected.
If they win this case, won’t that stop bag searches in places like museums as well? Not long ago I was in Washington, and I saw that places such as the Smithsonian buildings and even parking garages inspect bags. (I took a break from work long enough to stop by the National Archives, where I was searched going in, but not going out. I guess I could have carried the Constitution home in my socks.)