TSA Contact

[Mel]

Not exactly an LEO contact but I approached a TSA agent in Austin/Bergstrom Int'l Airport yesterday. I learned something. Did you know that our CHL is not issued to us?
As I approached I was trying to get at my Driver's license for ID. In the process, the agent saw my CHL. She snapped, "Is that a concealed handgun license?" I said, "Yes Mayam, it is."
She immediately snapped back, "We don't accept that for ID." I said, "Yes Mayam, I'm trying to get my driver's license out. It is kind of silly that you don't accept the CHL. There is absolutely no information on the driver's license that isn't on the CHL."
Again she snapped back with, "Well I can tell you why we don't accept it. It's because that license is issued to your handgun, not to you. Your driver's license is issued to you!" I almost said several things like, "That's why I have one for each handgun I own, Oh, wait, I only have one with MY name on it, not the name of my handgun."
But seeing as how she was a TSA agent and has the ultimate authority, I bit my lip and continued to my gate.
I kinda wish I had the latest version with LTC instead of CHL. That would have been a little more difficult for her to explain. But then again, I might still be in Austin.

[SewTexas]

soooo, I should have two then??? since I carry one of two different guns? and I might throw a third into the mix this winter.... I'm really confused.... and these people are in charge, of something....

[RoyGBiv]

50% of all people are of below-median intelligence.

[TreyHouston]

50% of all people are of below-median intelligence.

Setting your expectations kinda high there ;)

Hahahahahaha!

Really though, TSA has supervisors you can call that know the law better! You should write an email and explain what happened. She should be corrected

[ScottDLS]

The reason the LTC is not accepted by TSA is that it doesn't meet the federal "REAL ID ACT" standards for identification passed after 9/11. Newer Texas Drivers Licenses and ID Cards do meet the standards and older ones are grandfathered until 2018. You can tell if you have a new one of there's a "star" logo on the upper right side of the card. LTC's could meet the the standard easily based on the documentation required to obtain one and the physical features. But I actually think it's a bad idea. It's not necessary to have a picture and all sorts of other fancy features. It could be a slip of paper for that matter. It's bad enough to even have to have a license to exercise a constitutional right. With REAL ID our driver's licenses are being turned into internal passports and permission slips for us to travel in the US or go about our business. The answer is not more Soviet style bureaucracy, it's more freedom.

[Smokey613]

Yes, you have to have a "real ID" to fly but not to exercise arguably the most important duty we as Americans have and that is to vote. Yes sir, typical Federal bureaucrat logic.

[ScottDLS]

Yes, you have to have a "real ID" to fly but not to exercise arguably the most important duty we as Americans have and that is to vote. Yes sir, typical Federal bureaucrat logic.

I remember when I registered to vote for the first time in North Carolina when I was 18 (actually 17 because I was turning 18 before the election). I brought in my Massachusetts birth certificate to the Mecklenburg Public Library, put my left hand on the Bible (they don't call it the bible belt for nuthin') and raised my right hand to swear that I was eligible. . I think I had to find something with my address on it too. A couple months later I enlisted in the US Navy Reserve for officer training.

[OldCurlyWolf]

50% of all people are of below-median intelligence.

But, Not those who work for the TSA. It seems that their collective intelligence level is MUCH lower.

[tool4daman]

A few years ago, I had a similar incident as Mel. I had a TSA agent refuse to accept my military ID. I was doing the same thing as Mel- trying to get to my DL but the agent happened to see my military ID. It ticked me off, so I told the agent it was the only ID I had and she needed to call her supervisor. The supervisor showed up and she asked him "Do we accept military ID?" He gave her a very perturbed look and told her "Of course we accept military ID". I chuckled as I passed the sensors.

[rotor]

All this time I thought my DL was issued to my car.

[twomillenium]

I don't ever remember being told that TSA has an IQ requirement, in fact it seem if they did it would probably be to help them not hire anyone with an IQ of 75 or higher. Including management.

[Topbuilder]

"Well I can tell you why we don't accept it. It's because that license is issued to your handgun, not to you. Your driver's license is issued to you!"

So I was able to vote with my handgun's license? If you could make that statement seem more crazy, MY HANDGUN was not even allowed in the building!!

[bblhd672]

You don't have to be stupid to work at TSA, but it helps.

[striker55]

I have a respectable IQ yet I failed the TSA test and I wonder how some of their agent's passed the test? Not to sound like a dummy but also failed the Walmart test and really scratch my head when I see some of their employees. D'oh!

[pbwalker]

I fly 100k+ miles a year, and hold the TSA in the lowest regard. I've gone off on them in the past, and it's comical the kind of retorts they come up with. Mall cops have less of an ego, and a more respectable career than these gnats. TSA needs to go.