In an effort to defend the right of Americans to travel anonymously, civil liberties activist John Gilmore has filed a lawsuit against a "secret" government rule requiring passengers to show identification before boarding an airplane.

A life member of the Libertarian Party, Gilmore said he filed the suit on July 18 in San Francisco federal court because of his "belief in constitutional rights."

"A government that tracks its citizens' movements and associations, or restricts their travel using secret decrees, is violating the Constitution," he said.

"I hope to redirect government anti-terrorism efforts away from intrusive yet useless measures such as ID checks, confiscation of tweezers, and database surveillance of every traveler's life."

Gilmore, 47, said he was inspired to file the lawsuit because of an incident on July 4, when he was prevented from boarding a flight from Oakland International Airport to Baltimore-Washington International Airport.

He was flying to Washington, said Gilmore, to petition the federal government for a redress of grievances -- specifically the ID requirement.

However, Gilmore was stopped by Southwest Airlines employees who demanded to see his identification. Gilmore declined to do so, and was given conflicting information by employees about whether the ID requirement was a government policy or an airline regulation.

"I felt like I was a rat in a maze," he said. "I was just being harassed unless I followed their orders, which I wouldn't do."

Gilmore then went to the San Francisco airport, where he attempted to buy a ticket from United Airlines. He was again informed that he could not fly without showing identification.

After speaking with various security and service representatives, Gilmore said he was told that the only way he could fly without identification was if he became a "selectee."

According to Gilmore, being a selectee means that an individual must undergo "an intense search of one's person and one's bags," including having one's bags searched by hand.

"I wasn't about to let the airport workers sift through my private property," he said. "That would have been at least as intrusive as requiring me to show my ID."

After Gilmore refused to show identification or get searched, he was informed by a security agent that the airport was following security directives from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). However, the security agent said the directives were transmitted orally, and are not available in writing.

The Transportation Security Administration is an agency created after September 11 to regulate airport security and to implement the provisions of the Aviation and Transportation Security Act. That bill was signed by President Bush in November 2001.

However, a story on Wired.com said the TSA has denied that the federal government prohibits flying without an ID.

Quoting TSA spokesperson Greg Warren, Wired.com reported on August 15; "TSA requires air carriers to request a valid form of identification from a government issuer," Warren said. "The actual presentation of ID by passengers is not required. Refusal to allow passengers to board or not board the aircraft is at the discretion of the airline."

But regardless of who requires the identification, Gilmore said that checking ID cards is not an effective way to deter terrorism.

"If we knew who the terrorists were, we could just arrest them all, rather than stopping them when they try to fly," he said. "There are many ways to deter terrorism, but checking IDs against a watch list is not one of them. It is an exercise in futility that provides a false sense of security."

According to Gilmore's lawsuit, the ID regulation is unconstitutional because it is unpublished; requires government agents to search and seize citizens who are not suspected of crimes; burdens the rights to travel, associate, and petition the government; and discriminates against those who choose anonymity.

"People in the U.S. have a right to travel and associate without being monitored or stopped by their government, unless they are actually suspected or convicted of a crime, and unless that suspicion is reasonable," said Gilmore.

Moreover, Gilmore argued that because the regulations are secret, they violate the federal Freedom of Information Act.

"History shows that bad laws are seldom fixed until courageous citizens challenge them," he said. "This small lawsuit is such a challenge."

The defendants named in the suit are John Ashcroft, U.S. attorney general; Robert Mueller, FBI director; Norm Mineta, U.S. Department of Transportation secretary; Jane F. Garvey, Federal Aviation Administration chief; John W. Magaw, Transportation Security Administration chief; Tom Ridge, Office of Homeland Security chief; United Airlines; and Southwest Airlines.

The lawsuit is Gilmore v. Ashcroft.

Although he expects the court proceedings to take over a year, Gilmore said he is confident that he will be successful.

"The courts have shown some positive signs with regard to defending civil liberties recently, including ruling against secret trials and detaining American citizens," he said. "I think I have a good chance of winning this thing."

If he wins, said Gilmore, "I hope that I and everyone else in America will once again be able to travel without being forced to identify themselves."

A self-taught computer programmer, Gilmore was the fifth employee of Sun Microsystems. He is the co-creator of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a non-profit organization that defends civil liberties in cyberspace.

Quotable

"The Libertarians are a political party dedicated to small and simple government. I'm a life member. I consider the two major parties in the US to both be morally bankrupt, and largely indistinguishable from each other. Under both of them, US and state governments continue to grow in size, cost, and influence over their citizens. Both support completely indefensible policies such as the drug policies of the last thirty years."

Books & Tapes

To purchase books and tapes about or by this Libertarian Celebrity, search the world's best selection of books 
on liberty at Laissez Faire Books. For books or tapes that are not about liberty, search the vast resources at Amazon Books.