A Texas woman has called for an investigation and an apology from Transportation Safety Administration officials after she was forced to painfully remove her nipple rings before a flight from Lubbock to Dallas."I wouldn't wish this experience upon anyone," said Mandi Hamlin. "My experience with TSA was a nightmare I had to endure. No one deserves to be treated this way."
Not content to simply be shown the embedded jewelry (the skin around nipple rings often heals around the piercing, making them extremely difficult and painful to remove), TSA officials reportedly made Hamlin remove the two pieces of jewelry with a pair of pliers. At a news conference, Hamlin used a peach-colored bra to demonstrate how the jewelry was removed.
The TSA claims it did no wrong, saying its agents followed procedure, but Hamlin claims she wasn't offered a "pat-down" search, which is listed as an option in the TSA guidelines.
Questions raised: Were the feds being too rough? Can a nipple ring be used as a weapon?
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Friday 28 March
By Ronnie
Did they make her remove her butt plug too ?
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Friday 28 March
By Roy Lesher
Shame about the location, but I would think the airlines can insist on removal of any unusual metalic devices. People who enjoy piercing should expect this special treatment.
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Friday 28 March
By Howie Jay
I finally feel safe now that nipple rings have made the list. An imaginative malcontent could strangle me with his shoelaces or thrust a ballpoint pen into my neck but at least he can't shackle me to his accomplice's nipple rings which could be cleverly disguised as anodes and cathodes of a pocket taser.. oops, I've said too much.
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Friday 28 March
By DJ Maniak
Um, last I checked, any and all surgical steel body jewelry will NOT set off airport metal detectors. I feel that TSA was way out of line as a result.
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Saturday 29 March
By wayne
THESE TSA FOLKS SHOULD BE BEAT DOWN LIKE THE F-ING PUNKS THEY ARE. NIPPLE RINGS SHOULD BE REMOVED WITH THE TONGUE ONLY.
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Sunday 06 April
By J- Jo
'Airport security' is merely a front for fascist power grabs and civil rights impugnment. Hardly anything they do actually makes air travel safer (confiscating 4-oz shampoos??), it just gives government an excuse to take what they please, and for the public to fall to bended knee and say thank-you-sir-may-I-have-another. This woman should've tried to go through topless - how could security argue that's not safer for the public? Next time I travel, I'm walking through the security checkpoint in a thong and sandals, and they'll no doubt make me take off my sandals.
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Monday 07 April
By jamesdean2
If I'm not mistaken- Isnt that Gloria Allred the famous women's Lib- atty. to her side,-?- If so- I bet they are about to sue somebody's a**- I would...Esp. if I had to remove mine from my thang.. LOL
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Monday 07 April
By Mare
Guess I won't be flying any time soon. I refuse to remove my piercings. By the way, If the woman had taken better care of her piercings they would have just slid out. Not have to be removed with pliers.
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Monday 07 April
By Tom
This is better than watching comedy central,
With comedy central they read scrips on what to do to make viewers laugh,
TSA they are just so stupid there funny.
What on earth does tsa think the woman is gonna do with her nipple rings,
It would have been even funnier if some guy went through with
a pin though his pecker
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Monday 07 April
By Debby Houchins
I had nipple rings when I passed the security check point. I was wearing a T with no bra and they were able to see that I had the piercings so there was no issue, HOWEVER my hood piercing set off an alarm and I had to go into a room and remove it and then show it was only a ring, not an uzi that set of the alarm.
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Friday 18 April
By mr.red
I GUESS THE TITANIUM RINGS HOLDING MY RIB CAGE TOGETHER FROM OPEN HEART SURGERY IS FAIR GAME FOR THE TSA GESTAPO NOW.I GUESS ALSO THE PLATE IN MY HEAD HAS TO BE REMOVED WHENEVER I TRAVEL ALSO. WHAT WILL KEEP THE ALIENS FROM STEALING MY BRAINS?
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