I do not support the LAG rules but I am not going to go out of my way physically, legally or politically to see that they are removed.
I take an apathetic view and simply know they are the rules and go by them, because I'd rather have a smooth journey than get caught up trying to argue principle and perhaps score a few visits to the slammer in the process. Frankly, when you look at practice, most screeners actually don't pay a lot of attention to LAGs (except where the computer has "flagged" it for them). I have travelled with LAGs in excess of the 1L rule
or where they have not been packed in a sealed zip-lock bag not more than 1L, but haven't been pulled up on it. (In some countries, they only care about the 100 mL rule, not that it has to be in a 1L plastic bag, or that the bag needs to be screened separately to luggage!)
Some people may hold me as a social hypocrite and a serf/mindless idiot, but anyone else who is travelling internationally but is against LAG rules
or who isn't in jail because they made a voice against LAG rules is also a hypocrite (if not more so) for the same reasons.
All I do know is that my life would be a lot easier when LAG rules are gone.
Most security screening isn't flawless, but on the other hand it can
never be flawless. 100% detection rate? Not possible, unless you subject every single pax to:
- Full, certified background and police check
- Full body and cavity search before every flight
- Full immigration check, even if transiting or transferring
- Full psychological profile check (i.e. the "ask two questions" thing that US and UK immigration inspectors like to do)
- Every single advanced security screening check that is in force today - performed at least twice on a passenger
- Explosives and drugs check on every passenger and all items of hand baggage and checked baggage thoroughly, i.e. unpack all bags completely, swab all items and insides of bags, test everything. And that should be done at least twice.
- Every passenger receives 10 x 100mL standard issue bottles to be used for LAG purposes. If you lose one, you must pay to replace it. No other 100mL bottle will be accepted.
- All current LAG exemptions must be certified at least a week in advance of travel by a relevant security authority, which will then repack the exempted LAG in a certified container. If the container is lost, damaged or destroyed, tough luck.
Not to mention other things like if an accident occurs on a plane (e.g. bomb blew up), then by rights the origin airport should be locked down and every employee that works at the airport (i.e. is issued a pass to work there) is remanded in custody and treated as a suspect to the crime. After all, it could literally be anyone, couldn't it?
Even if we implemented that and more extreme measures to travel security, not only would enjoyment of travel be a certain impossibility, but I'd still hazard a guess that at least 1 in 1,000 pax will get away with non-fatal infractions and accidents/incidents will still occur at a rate of at least 1 in 100,000.