Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Woman kicked off a plane for her t-shirt

maleficent · 10-13-2005, 10:51 AM

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/09/we...9odonnell.html

Quote:

Passengers, Check Your T-Shirt Before Boarding

By MICHELLE O'DONNELL
Published: October 9, 2005
ALONG with lighters, penknives and other forbidden objects on airplanes, you can now add something entirely new: T-shirts with objectionable messages.

On Tuesday, Lorrie Heasley was forced to leave Southwest Airlines Flight 219, departing Reno, Nev., because she was wearing a T-shirt that featured pictures of President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and an expletive phrase playing on the title of the popular movie, "Meet the Fockers."

Ms. Heasley, 32, a lumber saleswoman who was traveling with her husband, said she bought the shirt as a gag while visiting Venice Beach, Calif.

So when can a T-shirt, admittedly vulgar, get you thrown off a plane?

It depends on the airline. When asked this week, many airlines said they must balance between protecting one passenger's rights and making sure the comfort of other passengers is not compromised. Some, like United and Midwest Airlines, said they would not remove a passenger over language on a shirt. Others referred to their policies on passenger behavior and attire stated in "contracts of carriage" that many post on their Web sites.

In Southwest's contract, passengers are forbidden from wearing clothing that is "lewd, obscene or patently offensive," said Beth Harbin, a spokeswoman.

Who decides what's offensive? At many airlines, like Southwest and JetBlue, it's the job of flight crews.

It can be a nasty business. The crew of an American Airlines flight once removed a passenger after others complained of his strong body odor, said Tim Wagner, an airline spokesman. The passenger was given a voucher for a nearby hotel and returned for a later flight after he had bathed.

Either way, constitutional law experts say that as private companies, airlines are well within their rights.

"The Constitution only restricts the government," said Geoffrey R. Stone, a law professor at the University of Chicago and the author of "Perilous Times: Free Speech in War Times."

He added, "One of the most basic facts of the Constitution that the general public doesn't understand is that the Constitution governs the government, so only the government can violate the Constitution."

Unless Congress passes a law forbidding airlines from removing passengers because of messages on their T-shirts, no statute has been violated, said Eugene Volokh, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.

For her part, Ms. Heasley said she and her husband, Ron, are currently seeking refund for their airfare from Reno to Portland, Ore., or the cost of their rental car, hotel and gas for what turned out to be a 10-hour drive home.

Interesting article from the NY Times... I'm too lazy to check Southwest's Contract...