[exodus]

And, Happygal, travel is a right, too.

To: exodus
Saying that one has the right to travel is hardly the same as saying that one has a specific right to a particular method of traveling. Try driving around with four bald tires, no windshield, and a lapsed registration sometime, and see how well the "right to travel" argument serves you in traffic court.
# 597 by general_re
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You're telling me that government has to approve my rights before I can practice my rights, general_re?

I think you've missed my point. To clarify, rights don't come from our government.

[general_re]

You're telling me that government has to approve my rights before I can practice my rights, general_re?

I'm telling you that your rights are not, and cannot be, absolute. You do not have the right to fly on a plane that does not belong to you, free from any scrutiny whatsoever, because your general right to travel does not guarantee you a particular method by which you can travel.

Asserting rights beyond what is enumerated in the Constitution is an exercise in wishful thinking. Both the contractual obligations of your ticket and the Commerce Clause of the Constitution provide ample justification for consensual searches of passengers - the Fourth Amendment is simply irrelevant, since the search is entirely consensual. If you don't like it, you are free to refuse to be searched, and then travel by some other means. You can always take a bus. Or buy your own plane. But the Commerce Clause clearly and explicitly gives Congress the right to regulate interstate commerce, which obviously includes a flight from Portland to Las Vegas.