Grounded: Millionaire John Gilmore stays close to home while making a point about privacy

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | Sunday, Feb. 27, 2005 | Dennis Roddy

[TheBlackFeather]

He's unable to travel because he refuses to present a government-approved ID

SAN FRANCISCO -- John Gilmore's splendid isolation began July 4, 2002, when, with defiance aforethought, he strolled to the Southwest Airlines counter at Oakland Airport and presented his ticket.

[Spktyr]

Um... See my post above. It's 49 U.S.C. § 44901 (as amended in 2004); and 49 U.S.C. § 44902 (as amended in 2004). Publicly viewable on FindLaw, your local public library (if they have a recent law collection) and many, many, many other sources. "Mere citizens" are easily able to view it, unless by "mere citizen" you mean someone "lazy, good for nothing, makes wild paranoid accusations about secret laws and persecution with no basis in fact".

[Cultural Jihad]

He is willing to show identification, he just wants to see the law requiring it first.

An Uber-Me-ocrat would have required that he was personally consulted on the issue before the law was written, and that he himself had signed off on the law first, before declaring it valid.

[sweetliberty]

"Gilmore -- and millions of other people -- are daily instructed to produce some manner of ID: a driver's license, a Social Security number, a phone number, date of birth."

Unless you're an illegal alien.

[yer gonna put yer eye out]

EXACTLY!!! and well said...

[freebilly]

I'm amazed at how many posters think FreeRepublic is for expressing their opinion about how everyone in America should be a slave and how the ones who object to being slaves are VICTIMS. The only thing worse than a liberal Democrat is a big government conservative....

I'm wasting a response on yer gonna put yer eye out because he and his ilk are just as dangerous as Hillary Clinton. Like her, his response is "We're gonna take away some of your rights for the common good." They're part of the same tree. They just hang from different branches, and if they had their way they'd hang Freedom from one of those branches, too.

[yer gonna put yer eye out]

Watch out for the black helicopter hovering over your house...:0)

[Mark was here]

The applicable laws, by the way, are 49 U.S.C. § 44901 (as amended in 2004); and 49 U.S.C. § 44902 (as amended in 2004).

From the Article:

Ann Davis, a spokeswoman for TSA, tacitly acknowledged the strange rabbit hole into which Gilmore has fallen. The Department of Justice, in its first response to Gilmore's suit two years ago, declined to acknowledge whether such an instruction existed. Later, it admitted its existence. Then the government asked a judge to hold a hearing in secret and preclude Gilmore's lawyers from seeing the regulation they sought to challenge, the contents of which seem to be pretty widely known.

There is more here than consenting to a search.

[freebilly]

first, by not presenting ID, you are not consenting to search and therefore cannot board; second, by not presenting ID, you cause the airline to think that you might be inimical to safety, which allows them to deny you boarding

You'd do Orwell proud. You can consent to a search without ID. If you, your luggage, etc are searched and nothing is found, how does not having ID impact airline safety?

[yer gonna put yer eye out]

Here again is a complete misunderstanding of having regard for anyone other than oneself...
You've ASSUMED I'm talking about MY safety only...
And I would expect that assumption from someone who would be worried about only themselves as you seem to be.

My concern is for EVERYONE on that particular flight and ALL other flights that ever happen.

[freebilly]

I'm not the black helicopter type. I just enjoy being left alone more than I enjoy bureaucratic bullsh!t....

[Spktyr]

If you don't like the law, sue to have it tossed out or lobby to have it repealed. I'm specifically addressing the original article which says that the law is "secret." It's not, and there's the legal basis for Mr. Idiot to be asked for his ID. If he doesn't like the law, he always has those two options.

[Tench_Coxe]

"Just trying to show you your extra sensitive, G-Man-around-every-corner mentality needs professional help..."

Well, it's no worse than your extra sensitive, terrorist hiding under every bed so I need a cop in the room mentality that needs professional help.

Have a nice day.

[yer gonna put yer eye out]

LOL...
What you really meant to say was that you'd be o.k. with taking away all the other passengers rights to a safe flight to preserve your common paranoia

[A message]

In Cali -- at least for us born and raised in America citizens you are required to show a copy of your birth certificate w/ raised seal.

Caused me, an Ohioian some delays in getting my DL when I first moved to Cal.

[Mark was here]

An Uber-Me-ocrat would have required that he was personally consulted on the issue before the law was written, and that he himself had signed off on the law first, before declaring it valid.

If a building inspector told you a structure you built in you back yard was to close to a property line, would you ask to see a copy of the ordinance?

[sinkspur]

It's a ridiculous example. Flying by air is one option among many for travel.

Besides, this entire thread is the same old crap we see on FR on a regular basis: a clown decides he doesn't want to obey a regulation established by a private business, and the luddites side with the clown.

[Cultural Jihad]

I remember the sad case of another Me-ocrat, who was witnessed having a fight with his daughter in his parked truck, and a deputy sheriff came around to investigate, and the man became uncooperative, refusing to identify himself to the officer.

Any rational person who loved his family would have reacted with gratitude that a perfect stranger had bothered to report a scene whereby a loved one could have been in grave danger. Not this Me-ocrat. He couldn't have cared less whether his own daughter was safe or not, or that someone had come around to make sure her rights weren't being violated. It was all about him and his supposed right to be left alone. As I recall, he spent a while in jail thinking about his bad, Me-ocratic ways.

[freebilly]

Agreed, and in order to change the law it's a good idea to bring some attention to it. Gilmore has....

[monkeywrench]

This country was founded on individual rights, not collective rights. It's good to see someone looking out for his. You chicken littles need to lighten up.

[sweetliberty]

If you read the entire article you will find that he is also unable to travel by bus or train without ID, and he doesn't drive because he has epilepsy.