It’s easy to forget the limited voting rights afforded to District of Columbia residents. One TSA agent however has gone a step further, questioning the existence of the US capital.
Justin Gray, a resident of Washington, DC, was flying out of Orlando International Airport over the weekend when a Transportation Security Administration agent claimed his up-to-date District of Columbia driver’s license was not a valid form of identification.
The TSA agent, Gray said, asked to see his passport upon inspection of the DC license. Gray said he did not have a passport with him because he didn’t need it in this case.
. @TSA Agent in Orlando never heard of "District of Columbia." Demanded passport because he didn't believe my drivers license was from US!?
— Justin Gray (@grayjustin) July 12, 2014
Gray soon realized the agent did not seem to know just what the District of Columbia was, refusing him passage at the airport’s security checkpoint.
Gray, a reporter for Cox Media Group, was eventually let through the checkpoint after he was contacted by a TSA spokesman just minutes after he tweeted about the ordeal.
Oops... TSA agent won't let @grayjustin through security, doesn't know DC is in the US: http://t.co/rzETISRihXpic.twitter.com/iaxJWsQ0YV
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) July 15, 2014
The spokesman explained the incident, saying, "Officers are trained to identify fraudulent documents, which can potentially deter and detect individuals attempting to circumvent this layer of security."
A TSA spokesman told Gray that all TSA agents in Orlando are being shown copies of a District of Columbia driver's license.
@grayjustin Happened to me in Indianapolis on Saturday too! Lady was nicer, but still didn't know what "District of Columbia" is.
— Stefanie M (@StefanieMDC) July 16, 2014
Another DC resident was reportedly held up by a Phoenix TSA agent in February.
“I don’t know if we can accept these,” DC resident Ashley Brandt recalled the agent saying, given DC is not a US state. “Do you have a US passport?’
Brandt's license was quickly approved by a TSA supervisor, she said.