And really, whether or not this incident was an accident, isn't the real point. It should never have happened at all. The 4th Amendment to the Constitution reads:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Where is the probable cause? Are many 17 year old girls in sundresses from Texas traveling with their church groups to Australia closet jihadists? I'd venture that none of them are and probable cause is defined as:
A reasonable amount of suspicion, supported by circumstances sufficiently strong to justify a prudent and cautious person's belief that certain facts are probably true.
Would any prudent and cautious person even think about selecting a 17 year old girl in a sundress for a patdown? Maybe if they were a prudent and cautious person who was also a molester, but otherwise no.
What's funny is that the Israelis are much more in tune with our Constitution than we are with their travel screening procedures. They ask you questions about who you are, where you are going and if any red flags are raised, they take you to a private area to ask you more questions and search your stuff. They only bother going through the extra effort when there is at least a hint of probably cause that a traveler could be up to trouble. But then again, they are actually trying to stop terrorists. I don't know what we are doing anymore.
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