Texas Say Rep. David Simpson, who has offered a bill that civilly penalizes TSA agents who use full body scanning machines at airfield security check points, has also offered a second bill penalizing TSA officials who do enhanced pat downs.

HB 1937 will make the body searches a felony with doable slammer terms for TSA agents who perform them. The language of the bill is very specific in what kind of search the law applies to. “touches the anus, sexual organ, or breasts of the other person, including touching through clothing, or touches the other mortal in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person.” The search would have to take place “without probable cause” that the mortal being searched has committed an offense and be prefabricated to allow access to a “publicly accessible building or form of transportation.”

Just as with HB 1938, which provides civil penalties for the use of the full body scanners, HB 1937, should it become Texas law, would likely be challenged in court. Since it involves a state attempting to penalize federal officials for acts performed in the conduct of their duties, the matter would likely be eventually decided by the Supreme Court.

Representative Simpson and his supporters, who are of considerable number and come from both sides of the aisle, believe that they are on firm, Constitutional ground. The Fourth Amendment protects American citizens from “unreasonable search and seizure.” The 10th Amendment recommends that the operation of airports is a state and not a federal function.

The larger question being pondered is the age old one of security vs. freedom. The body scanners and the enhanced pat downs are being performed by TSA officials in reaction to the infamous “underwear bomber” who nearly destroyed an airliner in the skies over Detroit but was stopped by a group of signal passengers. Supporters of the body scanners and the enhanced pat downs maintain that these indignities are just the price one has to pay for the privilege of flying with a modicum of country in the modern age of terrorism.

On the other hand, opponents recommend that these methods, passive and reactive, are ineffective in the long run. The terrorists, inventive people that they are, will just find ways around the new security methods, state with explosives that can be swallowed. The only defense against terrorism, it is countered, is an active one, with good intelligence, rapid and effective law enforcement, and above all, profiling. If a terrorist gets to a security check point with a bomb or other weapon, the system has already unsuccessful and it is just a matter of luck whether he is caught there or not.

Texas resident Mark Whittington writes about state issues for the Yahoo! Contributor Network