My Birmingham Trans Fam Weren't Shown Any Love By TSA At Love Field

I've made the sarcastic comment more than a few times that the Transportation Security Administration's TSA initials stand for 'Transsexuals Searched (Scrutinized) Always '.

I've had my own run-ins as a frequent flyer with TSA like many trans folks have, and it gets old.

The TSA claims they are working to better train their personnel about the realities that trans travelers exist and how to treat us with the same dignity and respect you treat other airline passengers while dealing with our trans specific travel challenges.

Bu far too often, the TSA fails at that minimum level expectation of treating trans travelers with respect, and I expect it to get worse during 45's administration.

I was not happy to hear in the wake of our BTAC conference that Daroneshia Duncan, the founding executive director of the Birmingham based (TAKE)  Transgender Advocates Knowledgeable and Empowering organization and our Birmingham trans fam received less than friendly treatment at TSA's Love Field security checkpoint.

The group of seven people, six trans women and one trans man, didn't have any issues with TSA in Birmingham enroute to BTAC, but the drama started on their way back home   Three of the women had temporary ID cards issued to them by the Alabama DMV, which are legal for travel purposes because they do contain a photograph

The TSA peeps at Love Field didn't seem to know that, and harassed the TAKE group, causing them to miss their flight back home.  After sorting out the ID issues, they eventually had to go to DFW and catch a flight home on Delta and told their story on their local TV station WIAT-TV.


 
Here's hoping that we get the TSA peeps at Love Field some Trans 101 training to ensure that this travel mess doesn't happen again.

And news flash to the TSA peeps at Love Field.  Trans people exist, some of us are Black, and we do travel by air.   We deserve and expect to be treated with the same dignity and respect that you extend to other cisgender air travelers transiting your airport.