Uh-oh.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA), embarrassed that it violated political correctness by noticing an “anomaly” when a man dressed as a woman who just happened to have a penis passed through one of the TSA’s full-body X-ray machines, is pleading mea culpa.
The Advocate Magazine reported that a man calling himself Shani Petovsky had a “harrowing experience” when detained at a TSA checkpoint at Orlando International Airport in September because of what TSA describes as an “anomaly.”
PC demanded an investigation of such brutality, and it got two, both civil rights investigations, one by TSA’s Office for Civil Rights and Liberty and another by the Department of Homeland Security.
TSA Assistant Administrator for Civil Rights and Liberty Kimberly Walton, properly contrite, said simply, “We are changing that word,” according to The Hill.
At the time of his trauma, Petovsky tweeted, “I am being held by the TSA in Orlando because of an ‘anomaly’ (my penis)” … “The TSA at the Orlando Airport told me I couldn’t take photos but this is denigrating. I have missed my flight.”
32 outraged House Democrats wrote the TSA, demanding it alter its screening procedures. They stated, “While we understand the importance of vigilant airport security, we cannot countenance a security protocol that subjects transgender travelers to this level of indignity. To that end, we urge TSA to complete a thorough review of its current procedures and address any shortcomings that may, however unintentionally, subject transgender travelers to inequitable or improper treatment by security personnel.”
“I am being held by the TSA in Orlando because of an ‘anomaly’ (my penis).”
Shani Petovsky
At first, the TSA asserted its employees had acted properly, stating, “Our officers are trained to properly screen members of the transgender community. After examining closed circuit TV video and other available information, TSA has determined that the evidence shows our officers followed TSA’s strict guidelines.”
That stand couldn’t last; TSA spokesman Mike England pleaded to The Advocate, “The short answer is no, we don’t know what we’re changing it to yet. But we’re going to work with the transgender community and figure that out.”
Walton told The Hill, “I hate to sound like a broken record, but what I want to say to the transgender community is first of all to express any regrets, and that they should bring that to our attention if they do not feel like they have been treated appropriately.”
She offered a mild defense of her agency, adding:
We emphasize that screening is to be conducted without regard to a person’s race, color, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation or gender identity. With that said, we screen travelers as they present. So if a person presents as a female, they are screened as a female. If a person presents as a male, they are screened as a male. If our workforce is not sure, they are trained to discreetly and politely get clarification. But the general rule is that we screen people as they present at a checkpoint.
Any terrorists willing to wear a dress and stuff a penis-shaped gun in their pants?