Tell Government and the Travel Industry: No More TSA Pat-Downs for Kids [PDF]

(Philadelphia, PA, April 20, 2011) — Traveler advocate We Won’t Fly is organizing a mass “Call Flood” campaign to force the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to stop touching children, as they did to 6-year-old Anna Drexel last week. The campaign is focused on TSA administrator John Pistole, President Barack Obama, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano, Disneyland and other travel industry participants that serve families.

The goal of the campaign is to highlight the immorality of TSA pat-downs of minors, force the TSA to immediately and permanently halt all touching of minors and encourage travel industry players to join us.

In a December 2010 interview, expert in the fight against child sexual abuse Ken Wooden said that TSA patdowns could “desensitize children to inappropriate touch and ultimately make it easier for sexual offenders to prey on our children.”

“We need a zero-tolerance policy against child abuse in airports,” said We Won’t Fly co-founder Jim Babb. “We urge parents to take the necessary steps to protect children from TSA predator-prepping.”

We Won’t Fly is circulating a petition as part of the campaign. When the goal of 100,000 signatures is reached, Babb and fellow co-founder George Donnelly will personally deliver the petitions to Pistole, Obama and Napolitano.

“This is for the children. Nothing is more important than the next generation. When measures ostensibly taken to protect them are more dangerous than the actual threat of terrorism, the cure has become the sickness,” said Donnelly.

The recent TSA pat-down of 6-year-old Anna Drexel sparked international outrage and re-opened the debate on TSA touching of minors. Last November, the TSA succeeded in calming similar fears when it promised to use only “modified” pat-downs on minors.

“The TSA never said how ‘modified’ pat-downs for kids were different from ‘enhanced’ patdowns for adults, and finally we have the answer. The TSA was lying. They are the same thing – and we are opposed to both,” said Donnelly.

“What family vacation could possibly be worth having our children felt up at the airport? As a dad, my primary responsibility is to protect my daughters from harm. I will not allow a stranger to put his hands in my child’s pants. PERIOD!” said Babb.

We Won’t Fly is an advocate for effective traveler security that doesn’t trample basic human rights. http://WeWontFly.com.

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Media Contact

James Babb jamesbabb@mac.com 610 574 1222
George Donnelly george.donnelly@gmail.com 941 538 6399

Thanks to the Dignity Community!

Thanks to 27 donors who care about basic human dignity, we raised the funds necessary to distribute this to mainstream news media outlets across America via PR Newswire (US1 National Newsline). Please multiply the impact of this press release by sharing it with your friends and family via email, posting it on your Facebook wall, tweeting it and passing the message via word of mouth. If we can’t stop this abuse for our kids, how can we reach the goal for ourselves?

Another thanks to our network of writers and researchers who helped craft this release. We couldn’t do it without you!

It’s a Wedge Issue

For anyone confused about why we’re not continuing to demand an end to scoping and groping for everyone, we actually still are. We’re just using a little judo to mix things up on this issue. We’ve all been throwing hardballs for months now (demanding an end even to the TSA itself), now we’re going to toss them a few curveballs and change-ups.

I trust that everyone understands the need for strategy and tactics. If we can get rid of pat-downs for kids, it undermines the rationale for everyone and advances us closer to our common goals. So please sign the petition and share the press release with your network. Together we will score more victories for human rights and basic human dignity.

Direct Petition Link