By Ryan Geddie, Senior Grassroots Advocacy Specialist
Over the past year, we have been reaching out to our community members about their experiences with airport security screenings conducted by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The response from this community has been tremendous. Our request for community members to share their stories on an AC Connect thread about going through TSA checkpoints as a person with limb loss or limb difference is the most repliedto post on the entire platform. The replies on this post describe experiences with TSA officials that have ranged from unprofessional to potentially traumatizing. This post, and the community response to it, was the beginning of a renewed effort on Amputee Coalition’s part to engage with the issue of how people with limb loss and limb difference are treated by TSA officials. Since then, we’ve highlighted some of these stories in our Thrive blog, and in our inMotion magazine, and we have participated in a dialogue with TSA officials through the TSA Disability and Multicultural Coalition — but we want to go further.
At the Amputee Coalition, our mission is to support, educate, and advocate for people who have limb loss and limb difference. We believe that advocacy will be necessary to solve this problem, but to advocate effectively, we need additional information. In response to our being informed of recent unethical and inexcusable behavior by TSA officials at security checkpoints, are conducting a survey of the experiences of people who have limb loss and limb difference at TSA checkpoints. The voices of people who have limb loss and limb difference are invaluable for this effort. We hope you will make yours heard by participating in this survey.
Additionally, we invite you to attend our upcoming public forum via Zoom on Monday, April 8, from 4:00-6:00pm ET. The purpose of this forum is for the Amputee Coalition to gather input from the community on your experience with TSA to better inform our Government Relations department in their advocacy efforts. Register for the webinar here.