Congress passed a bill a while ago that contained immunity for citizens who report "suspicous activity" on flights, and for airline and airport employees who act on this information. This is a reaction to a lawsuit filed by a group of Muslim imams against U.S. Airways and unknown or "John Doe" passengers after they were removed for suspicious behavior aboard Flight 300 from Minneapolis to Phoenix on Nov. 20 before their removal.
Rep Pete King (R-NY), one of the sponsors of the bill, says (here):
"This is a slap in the face of good citizens who do their patriotic duty and come forward, and it caves in to radical Islamists," Mr. King said.
Patriotic citizens, or big brother, literally? This is an invitation to racial profiling.
It is disappointing that this bill was passed with the provision in it, but it's not over till it's over. I urge you to call the following numbers to support scrapping these provisions in conference:
Speaker Pelosi: 202 225 0100 or 202 225 4965
Homeland Security Committee Chairman Thompson: 202 225 5876 or 202 226 2616
Rep Van Hollen: 202 225 5341
Folks over at Redstate are making the same calls right now to support this provision. We need to call so we can register our opinion. Please call!