LGBTQ news and entertainment
Security lines at U.S. airports were notably shorter Monday as Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) agents began receiving backpay for working during the government shutdown.
Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Friday ordering the Department of Homeland Security to re-direct funds in order to pay the TSA agents.
Question – if he had the means to issue such an order all along, why didn’t he? Continue reading “Airport Security Lines Dwindle As TSA Agents Receive Backpay”
Some news items for you as we get over Hump Day:
• The Advocate: A Texas man was arrested Tuesday after using chalk and spray paint to reapply rainbow patterns to Dallas crosswalks where they had been removed. Released on Wednesday, he says he’d do it again – “Every single time they try to take it away, I’m going to put it right back.”
• OUT: Angus O’Brien brought a lovable charm to his role as “Hicks” in the military drama BOOTS, and no one is mad at his latest abs-tastic selfie. Continue reading “Texas Man Arrested For Re-Painting Rainbow Crosswalks + More News”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) got owned big-time by Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport today.
Cornyn had announced he was showing up for a bit of performative showboating to deliver burgers to TSA agents working without pay during the current partial shutdown. His goal was to shift blame onto Democrats in Congress blocking a funding bill for the Department of Homeland Security (which includes TSA).
But Casar, who represents Austin in Congress, arrived before Cornyn and then engaged in a back-and-forth with the senator asking him to support a bipartisan bill to fund TSA specifically. Continue reading “Cornyn Gets Owned By Democrat On TSA Funding”
Some news items you might have missed: • Gay Times: Netflix has released ‘first look’ photos from the upcoming 3rd season of Heartstopper, the streaming platform’s acclaimed coming-of-age queer dramedy. Continue reading “‘Heartstopper’ Season 3 + Gay Senior Prom + More News”
Some news items you might have missed: • The Messenger: Fifty-six years and 49 albums into her music career, country music legend Dolly Parton has her highest-charting album ever on the Billboard 200 with her new album, Rockstar, landing at No. 3. Continue reading “Dolly Parton’s ‘Rockstar’ Becomes Her Highest Charting Album + More News”
Beginning Tuesday, February 2, the TSA will require folks to wear a face mask through airport security checkpoints and all the way through commercial and public transport systems. TSA agents have been authorized to fine anti-maskers at airports if the rules aren’t followed. From the Transportation Security Administration:
The federal face mask requirement extends to the nation’s domestic network of airports; passengers and crewmembers flying aboard airplanes operated by domestic and foreign air carriers with inbound flights to U.S. ports of entry; and surface transportation modes, such as passenger rail, bus systems, and over-the-road bus companies.
Passengers without a mask may be denied entry, boarding, or continued transport. Failure to comply with the mask requirement can result in civil penalties.
Whether beginning the security screening process at the airport Travel Document Checker (TDC) or submitting checked baggage for screening, all passengers who appear to be over the age of 2 must properly wear a face mask throughout the security screening process. The officer at the TDC will request that travelers temporarily lower the mask to verify their identity.
Those who approach the TDC without a mask will be asked to wear or obtain one to proceed. Passengers who refuse to wear a mask will not be permitted to enter the secure area of the airport, which includes the terminal and gate area.
Depending on the circumstance, those who refuse to wear a mask may be subject to a civil penalty for attempting to circumvent screening requirements, interfering with screening personnel, or a combination of those offenses.
Back in June I reported on homocon Brandon Straka who was removed from a flight for refusing to wear a mask. For all you anti-maskers at airports, the new rules will stay in effect through May 11, 2021.
NEWS: Masks are required in all airports across the United States. While wearing your mask through security, be prepared to adjust it so the TSA Officer can visually confirm your identity. Read more at: https://t.co/1xXldTCgw1 pic.twitter.com/vMUbehkEFp
— TSA (@TSA) February 1, 2021
BREAKING: Starting Feb. 2, air travelers without a mask may be denied entry through the @TSA checkpoint, boarding the aircraft or continued transport. Failure to comply with the mask requirement can also result in civil penalties.
— Lisa Farbstein, TSA Spokesperson (@TSA_Northeast) February 1, 2021
(image via TSA)
TSA announced that its officers seized 4,432 guns at checkpoints last year — the most in the agency’s 18-year history. It also says that 87% of those guns (some 3,855) were loaded.
“The continued increase in the number of firearms that travelers bring to airport checkpoints is deeply troubling,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske said in a statement Wednesday. “There is a proper way to travel safely with a firearm. First and foremost, it should be unloaded,” Pekoske said. “Then it should be packed in a hard-sided locked case, taken to the airline check-in counter to be declared, and checked.”
Nationwide, TSA says it caught firearms at 278 airports. That includes, as NPR reported in July, a missile launcher found in a Texas man’s luggage at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Even if a traveler has a concealed weapon permit, firearms are not permitted to be carried onto an airplane. Individuals who bring weapons to a checkpoint are subject to federal civil penalties of up to $13,000, depending on the weapon. A typical first offense for carrying a handgun into a checkpoint is $4,100. For more information, click over to the TSA’s website here.