That answer was not good enough for Mr. Gunn. He made it quite clear to the woman performing the TSA “Chat-Down.”
- He was an American citizen
- He was traveling within his own country
- He was not breaking any laws
- That was all the government needed to know and he was not going to share any information
And that’s when the agent loudly announced to her superiors (and everyone else standing in line): “We have another refusal here!”
By shouting that line, the woman triggered a response from supervisors and other agents in the area.
Another TSA staffer detained Mr. Gunn and took his carry-on bag. When he asked why he was being “detained,” the TSA rep denied detaining Gunn. Steve Gunn did say that his detention lasted all of two minutes, but it was a detention. He was stopped, held against his will and checked quite differently than all of the other passengers in line.
The manner in which he was treated by TSA agents bothered Mr. Gunn and he told TheBlaze that he felt like a suspect and decided to speak loudly so the people in line could hear him. As his bag was being examined and his hands swabbed by the agent, Gun said, “This is America, not Russia… we shouldn’t have to answer these questions!”
Gunn said that another TSA agent stopped his work and replied: “It’s no different than customs.”
Gunn told the interjecting TSA agent that his Customs comparison is wrong. People coming into the country should be screened in a more serious manner than citizens moving about inside our borders.
After he landed in Grand Rapids and arrived at his home (I did not ask him exactly where he lived), Gunn researched the TSA’s “pilot program” that involves quizzing passengers as they stand in line. He discovered a USA Today opinion piece that details the program. It’s not exactly a new thing and the results are also less than spectacular. Gunn’s article recapped the USA Today story:
TSA officials interviewed about 725,000 travelers at Logan International Airport in Boston over the course of one year, and none of them turned out to be terrorists. A small percentage were arrested on outstanding warrants for other crimes.
Steve Gunn believes that he may have been singled out for the questioning because he suffers from a partial and temporary facial paralysis due to a recent bought with Bell’s palsy. Gunn wonders if all stroke victims and people with facial tics will be pulled aside and quizzed.
During our interview, Gunn stressed that he understands the need to make certain air travel is safe. However, his objection was raised over the curious and invasive search tactics used in this new “chat-down” program.
“They can make us all take off our shoes and our belts and treat us as suspects,” he said. “But at least in that case, they treat everyone equally.”
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