Instead of threatening to shut down flights in Texas, why doesn't the TSA just show us their statutory authority to grope or ogle our private parts?" he asked. "All that HB 1937 does is require that the TSA abide by the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution."

Published reports, however, said the Simpson plan, which had passed the House 138-0, HB1937, died as a result of the threat.

Fast forward to the current special legislative session, which already is considering issues including sanctuary cities, school district operations, Medicaid, congressional redistricting and windstorm insurance.

One state official even alleged the TSA was punishing state officials for their objections:

 

A spokeswoman for Simpson said several lawmakers have requested that Perry add the TSA issue to the special session planning agenda.

"There are 112 out of 150 [state House] legislators who have signed on as co-authors," Simpson's spokeswoman told WND today. "In the Senate, the sponsor, Sen. [Dan] Patrick, has notified the governor he has at least 18 of 31 senators aboard."

She said the passage of the law is virtually assured if it gets past the governor.

The session is scheduled to run through June 29.

Patrick had said he didn't want the state to cave in to the demands of a federal agency.

Simpson said the federal government's characterization of the state protection wasn't accurate.

"We aren't even prohibiting the pat-downs, per se. We're just saying you can't go straight to third base. You have to have a reason – you have to have probable cause – before groping someone's sexual organs," he said.

Simpson has called on the spirit of President Reagan for people to continue the fight over what he called the "brazen show of disregard for the dignity and the constitutional rights of American citizens," saying, "If not us, who? And if not now, when?"

Simpson has accused the Obama administration of turning the nation into a police state with its invasive pat-down procedures at airports.

The Republican lawmaker criticized airport procedures that require travelers to either pass through a scanner that images the entire body or submit to an intrusive pat-down.

He said metal detectors are far more effective, noting instances in which the detectors caught banned objects while the body screeners missed them.

The Texas plan would classify any airport inspection that "touches the anus, sexual organ, buttocks or breast of another person including through the clothing, or touches the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person" as an offense of sexual harassment under official oppression.

Transportation Security Administration agents could be charged with a misdemeanor crime, face a $4,000 fine and one year in jail under the measure.

Murphy said that's unacceptable, arguing federal agents have to be able to touch sex organs as they please.

"The proposed legislation would make it unlawful for a federal agent such as a TSO to perform certain specified searches for the purpose of granting access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation," he said. "That provision would thus criminalize searches that are required under federal regulations in order to ensure the safety of the American public."

"If the administrator [of the TSA] determines that 'a particular threat cannot be addressed in a away adequate to ensure … the safety of passengers and crew of a particular flight,' he 'shall cancel the flight or series of flights,'" he threatened.

Citizens who organized the TsaTyranny.com website in reaction to the invasive federal procedures immediately alerted their constituents.

In a commentary at the Tenth Amendment Center by Connor Boyack with Brian Roberts and Michael Boldin, the organization said, "It was less than a month ago at the Dallas, Texas, airport where former Miss USA Susie Castillo tearfully produced a viral video describing the molestation she had just then endured at the hands of a TSA agent.

"I mean, she actually… touched my vagina," Castillo said through her tears. "They're making me… choose to either get molested… or go through this machine that's completely unhealthy and dangerous. I don't want to go through it, and here I am crying."

Continued the commentary, "Castillo isn't the only person who would be protected under this Texas legislation. All other innocent travelers would likewise be shielded. That includes the six year old girl who made the headlines last month for being groped by a TSA agent (an action which the TSA defended as being alright since it 'followed the current standard operating procedures'), as well as the eight-month-old infant subjected to a pat down while cradled in the arms of her mother.

"These are but a few of the myriad confrontations that occur daily where TSA agents detain, invasively search, and seize items from innocent individuals who are not suspected of any crime whatsoever. Texas' bill would correct this horrific perversion of the law within its state, but the federal government is clearly interested in justifying and maintaining its statist status quo," the organization said.

It also suggested that the Texas proposal might be just the tip of the iceberg that TSA is steaming toward.

"Already, four other states are considering similar 'travel freedom' legislation. And, sources close to the Tenth Amendment Center tell us to expect at least 10 others in 2012. Taken together, it becomes evident that many other states will soon be picking up the baton, together having the courage needed to put the federal government back in its rightful place – which isn't inside the waistline of innocent passengers.