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is dedicated to the acceptance, medical
treatment, and legal
protection of individuals correcting the misalignment
of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition
into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.
Airlines, Legal ID, and You: US Government Takes Over Passenger List Print E-mail
TS-Si - Notices
TS-Si   
Sunday, 26 October 2008 20:07
TS-Si Advisory: Travel By Pre-op TS During A Terrorism Alert.
Washington, DC, USA. Beginning early in 2009, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secure Flight Program (SFP) will require airline passengers in the United States to provide their full name, birth date and gender as a pre-condition for boarding commercial flights. Implementation of the second stage is targeted to begin in late 2009. Under its provisions, the SFP will assume the function that matches the watch list for passengers on international flights, currently the responsibility of the a diffferent DHS unit, the US Customs and Border Protection and the international air carriers.
 
On 22 October 2008 the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published its Secure Flight Final Rule which shifts pre-departure watch list matching responsibilities from individual aircraft operators to the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and carries out a key recommendation of the 9/11 Commission. Airlines will be required under Secure Flight to collect a passenger's full name, date of birth, and gender when making an airline reservation.
 
Secure Flight Program: Secure Flight Final Rule. US Department of Homeland Security (DHS); Transportation Security Administration (TSA). 49 CFR Parts 1540,1544, and 1560 [Docket No. TSA-2007-28572; Amendment Nos. 1540-9,1544-8, and 1560-(New)] RIN 1652-AA45. Pub No. 9110-05-P. 20 October 2008.
 
This additional information is expected to prevent most inconveniences at the airport, and will be particularly important for those individuals with names similar to those on the watch list. The changes will apply to 2 million daily passengers aboard all domestic flights and international flights to, from or over the United States and are expected to significantly reduce the number of cases of mistaken identity (in which people with names similar to those on watch lists are wrongly barred or delayed from flights).
 
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff stated that, except in rare situations, passengers who do not provide the additional information will not be given boarding passes.

If you don't provide the data, then you are going to put yourself in a position where you are probably going to be a selectee, subject at a minimum to greater future security scrutiny.

We know that threats to our aviation system persist. [Secure Flight] will increase security and efficiency, it'll protect passengers' privacy, and it will reduce the number of false-positive misidentifications.

DHS estimates that adding identity details will allow "99 percent" of travelers to avoid delays -- all but 2,000 passengers a day.
 
In the US Congress, both the House Homeland Security Committee Chairman, Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), and subcommittee head Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) say they are disappointed and troubled that full implementation may not occur for several months or years.
 
So why is all this important not only to men and women born with Harry Benjamin Syndrome (HBS aka Transsexuality) but also the Transgender Community?
 
Prior to surgery (pre-op), all HBS men and women go through a period during transition in which their apparent sex and birth genitalia do not agree. Legal names may not have been changed (i.e., the Drivers License or Passport may still reflect the birth name). A check of the Social Security Number to confirm identity may lead to legal confusion.
 
There are ways to minimize the risk for pre-ops:
  • Only travel too places that can be reached easily by private automobile (don’t fly), an unsatisfactory, self-limiting solution at best.
     
  • Dress as the gender that matches your legal identification (an unacceptable alternative for a transsexual in transition).
     
  • Travel with a “carry letter” from a therapist indicating treatment for HBS/Gender Identity Disorder (have your paperwork in order and available), and
     
  • Be upfront with security personnel about being in transition (HBS/transsexuality is a widely known medical condition).
     
  • Don’t deny who you are. Don’t be embarrassed by your situation. Assuming all else is equal, a pre-op transsexual has done nothing illegal or threatening. Hormone therapy is not a terrorist threat.
The transgendered, however, face a different problem: they are not in transition. They are what they are, transgendered (their social gender presentation (man or woman) does not match their physical body (male or female, which they do not desire to change).
 
Security personnel have caught a number of male terrorists attempting to slip aboard commercial aircraft disguised as women. Any suggestion of deception gives security the justification needed to harass, embarrass, delay, or detain a person who is transgendered.
 
Transgender men and women have the same legal identification problems as HBS men and women only worse: in most states, changing the sex marker on legal identification (drivers license, etc.) requires a surgeon’s confirmation of successful sex reassignment surgery (SRS). , Transgender men and women neither desire, nor plan to change their birth sex.
 
Additionally, without SRS, a transgender person may be unable to legally change their name to one more appropriate to their gender presentation (how they prefer to dress and present themselves to society). A check of legal records may result in the transgender person being detained for further investigation and/or being charged with attempting to deceive airline security.
 
Similar to HBS men and women, the transgendered should
  • Be upfront with security personnel about their legal identity.
     
  • Not deny who they are and not be embarrassed by being transgender. Being transgendered is not a terrorist threat.
While not ideal, an alternative open to transgender men and women (that is normally unavailable to the pre-op HBS for medical reasons) is to dress as the gender that matches both legal identification and physical genitalia. A person with a penis presents as a man, a person with a vagina presents as a women. The idea is to avoid being hassled at the airport.
 
There is nothing wrong with being transgendered. Anyone should be able to dress any way they wish (and accept the consequences of flouting social conventions – there is no such thing as a free lunch). In most states, the only actual violation occurs if the transgender person provides identification that does not match their actual legal identity.
 
Most of all, everyone (HBS or transgendered) needs to be careful out there. The world outside is very unforgiving of mistakes and errors of judgment.
 
The US Department of Homeland Security is not known for their sense of humor.
 
TS-Si News ServiceThe TS-Si News Service is a collaborative effort by TS-Si.org editors, contributors, and corresponding institutions. The sources can include the cited individuals and organizations, as well as TS-Si.org staff contributions. Articles and news reports do not necessarily convey official positions of TS-Si, its partners, or affiliates.

We welcome your comments. Use the form below to leave a public comment or send private correspondence via the TS-Si Contact Page. We will not divulge any personal details or place you on a mailing list without your permission.


TS-Si is dedicated to the acceptance, medical treatment, and legal protection of individuals correcting the misalignment of their brains and their anatomical sex, while supporting their transition into society as hormonally reconstituted and surgically corrected citizens.
 
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Last Updated on Saturday, 24 April 2010 00:46
 
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