Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

July 25, 2008 10:14:01 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Woman Forced to Remove Nipple Rings at Airport

Posted Mar 28, 08 10:04 AM CDT in US 

(Newser) – A Texas woman is calling for an apology after airport security in Lubbock forced her to pull out her nipple piercings with a pair of pliers before boarding her plane, the AP reports. When her chest set off the security wand, Mandi Hamlin offered to show a female guard her unremovable piercings in private, but male guards insisted they be removed. She said she could hear them snickering as she did so.

“No one deserves to be treated this way,” said Hamlin, 37, who is promising litigation if the TSA’s civil rights department doesn’t investigate. But the guards appear to have followed TSA policies. Once an alarm sounds “we're not going to let them go through the checkpoint, no matter what they're wearing or where they're wearing it,” said one spokesman.

Source Associated Press

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • New Bags Let Laptop Users Fly Through Security

    Jul 1, 08 4:10 PM CDT
    New Bags Let Laptop Users Fly Through Security Eagerly awaited "checkpoint friendly" luggage is at last in the pipeline, and travelers will be able to clear airport security without removing laptops from their bags by September or October, the New York Times reports. The TSA-approved bags allow security personnel to see computers on X-ray machines through either protective sleeves or fold-down sections in bigger cases. More »

  • Security Could Get A Bit Easier

    May 22, 08 5:05 PM CDT
    Security Could Get A Bit Easier In a few months, travelers likely will be able to take their laptops through airport security without removing them from their cases—if they buy special new cases, that is. The Transportation Security Administration will probably begin accepting new forms of carrying cases that allow unobstructed x-ray views of the laptop inside, the agency told USA Today. More »

  • Airport to Sort Travelers Into Fast, Slow Lanes

    May 8, 08 1:42 PM CDT
    Airport to Sort Travelers Into Fast, Slow Lanes Travelers using Chicago’s Midway Airport are finding a curious new addition to security lines, the Tribune reports—ski-slope-like signs meant to funnel travelers into different lines based on how quickly they're likely to be able to speed through. They're color coded to the “difficulty level” of each option: Green circles for beginning travelers, blue circles for advanced travelers, black diamonds for experts. More »

  • LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans

    Apr 18, 08 9:59 AM CDT
    LAX Readies 'Strip Search' Scans New technology will allow screeners at Los Angeles International Airport to scan passengers with a device that effectively looks beneath their clothes, the LA Times reports. The “whole body imaging” machines are drawing mixed reviews—a TSA spokesman praised the "brand-new security tool," but an ACLU rep compared a scan to a “high-tech strip-search.” More »

  • Feds Bust Plane Passenger With Bomb Parts in Baggage

    Apr 2, 08 2:50 PM CDT
    Feds Bust Plane Passenger With Bomb Parts in Baggage A Jamaican national was arrested after checking a bag at Orlando International Airport that contained the makings of pipe bombs, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The FBI detained Kevin Brown, 32, after a TSA “behavior specialist” spotted him during check-in yesterday. He was charged with attempting to carry an explosive device onto an aircraft; a federal judge denied him bail at a hearing today. More »

Mandi Hamlin, right, demonstrates what she was asked to do by the TSA during a news conference Thursday, March 27, 2008, in Los Angeles, as her attorney Gloria Allred looks on.   (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
A cameraman takes a close up shot of a nipple ring inserted on a mannequin during a news conference, March 27, 2008, conducted by attorney Gloria Allred and her client Mandi Hamlin, in Los Angeles.   (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 3)

Tags

privacy  • airport security  • TSA  • airport screener  • nipple rings


Loading...

Loading...

Today's Most Popular


Other US Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »