Sometimes, it’s nice to be proven wrong, if only in part. Last week, I spent a lot of time writing about the TSA and other organizations like Homeland Security. I argued that we are seeing more and more security-state policies everyday, and that we risk slipping from security-state to police-state.

One point I made is that people are not making nearly enough of a stink over the policies the TSA, Homeland, and other departments (including the presidency) have implemented over the last several years. While I still think it’s true that people are becoming far too complacent with all of this, it makes me a little happier to see that some state legislatures are taking action.

Last Thursday, the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill that bans TSA searches without probable cause, making it the first state to do so:

House Bill 1937, introduced by Representative David Simpson, seeks to ban searches by TSA (and other) agents “without probable cause” as the 4th amendment requires. It states, in part:

A person who is a public servant [acting under color of his office or employment] commits an offense if the person:

(2) while acting under color of the person’s office or employment without probable cause to believe the other person committed an offense:

(A)  performs a search for the purpose of granting access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation;

The TSA is in an uproar of course:

What’s our take on the Texas House of Representatives voting to ban the current TSA pat-down? Well, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution (Article. VI. Clause 2) prevents states from regulating the federal government.

Is that patronizing or is it me? I think it’s not just me:

We wish we lived in a world where you could just walk on a plane with no security screening, but that just isn’t the case unfortunately.

Yeah, well, we shouldn’t have to lose our dignity in order to fly. I’m not against security screening. Especially after 9/11 it is important to do. The trick is in how we do it, and the current system is ineffective. It just doesn’t work. And what’s more, it’s completely demoralizing and offensive to many people.

Texas gets it right, and I’m glad to be proven wrong in that some people are fighting back.