...
Not to mention the total disregard of Constitutional rights that "they" say you waive by entering the line to get screened.
....
I hate to sound like a broken record, but the Constitution - at least the 4th Amendment - just isn't a factor here, nor will it be absent a
major change in how the Supreme Court interprets it.
Just to reiterate, for starters, the 4th Amendment isn't implicated. The 4th prohibits unreasonable intrusions absent cause; this airport security stuff, as it stands now, just won't be found to be unreasonable (if it goes further, though, that might change). "Unreasonable" is kicking in your door based on the fact that you did a rolling stop 5 years ago three states away; "unreasonable" isn't subjecting every passenger, or even every 5th passenger, to a scan that can see through clothes, in the face of a known threat to a particular target that the people scanned are willingly and voluntarily using.
Even assuming the 4th Amdmt is implicated, it's a well established part of constitutional law that you can waive those rights. For instance, it's a routine occurrence for a police officer, even though he doesn't have anything other than the slightest of hunches because you look "funny," to walk up to you, engage you in conversation, and then ask if you don't mind if he pats you down for, say, weapons (or drugs, or whatever). It's entirely voluntary, and unless he's coerced you in some impermissible way (and this is where there *might* be a little wiggle room in what I'm saying - it can be argued that "you're not getting on this plane unless you waive your rights" is coercion, but I
highly doubt that this would be a successful argument for a variety of reasons), it's entirely valid. Same if you want to go into, say, a prison or any other area that's at a known, proven, and consistent threat of criminal activity - if you want in, you're going to have to waive whatever 4th Amdmt. rights you have (again, assuming they exist).
So, I'm sorry I'm tell y'all things that you probably don't want to hear. But this is how and what the law is, and I'm not going to blow smoke up your respective derrieres.
With all of that being said, however, I agree with everything else in your post.
