TSA rule 49 CFR Part 1552 (or its misinterpretation) is already preventing people from flying (even renters) (long)

This (10-19) afternoon, my flying club (Squadron 2 in San Jose)
emailed the following notice to all club members (long):

-----------------------------QUOTE----------------------------------
The following message is divided into two parts;
· To All Members
· To CFI Members.

In Summary as of 10/20/04:

· ALL members that are US Citizens, must have additional documents
scanned before their next flight.

· ALL CFI's must be registered with the TSA as providers and be FAA
enabled in order to teach at Squadron 2 Flying Club after 10/19/04

· ALL members that are not US Citizens must consult Club office
Personnel


====================================
Effective 10/20/04
====================================
To All:
Per the recent FAA/TSA requirements, Squadron 2 Flying Club has
expanded our documents database to include those items required by the
FAA/TSA. All members are required to scan their documents PRIOR to
their next flight (training or otherwise). The documents to be
scanned are one of the following:

For US Citizens:
· Original or government-issued certificated birth certificate (US)
for the US, for American Samoa, or Swains Island, plus a photo ID; or
· Current, valid (not expired) US Passport (contains photo); or
· Original US Nationalization Certificate w/ raised seal, plus a photo
ID; or
· Original US Citizenship & Immigration Services (USCIS) or
Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) form N-550 (or N-570,
Certificate of Naturalization), plus a photo ID; or
· Original certification of birth abroad w/raised seal or US
Department of State Form FS-545 (or Form DS-1350), plus a photo ID; or
· Original certificate of US citizenship w/raised seal, USCIS or INS
Form N-560 (or Form N-561 or Form N-581, with photo ID; or
· DOD or Federal Agency written certification attesting to the Federal
employee's US citizenship or nationality, plus their government-issued
photo ID.

Club Office personnel must authorize and record the documents to be
used to satisfy the above requirement.

For non-US citizens:
Please see Club office personnel for TSA clearing procedure. Due to
each person's own unique situation, every non-US citizen Club Member
will be handled on an individual basis in order to minimize
inconvenience to those that may be temporarily deferred due to non
training activities.

To All CFIs:
· When Signing up new members, you MUST verify they are US citizens
and their documents must be approved by Club office personnel.
· If the new sign up is NOT a US Citizen, their sign up must be
handled by the Club office personnel.

All CFIs teaching at Squadron 2 Flying Club a

· required to be signed up within the TSA system
· be authorized by the FAA within the TSA system.

CFIs must prove compliance to Club office personnel before any further
instruction by demonstrating they are authorized as "Providers" on the
TSA website before teaching at Squadron 2 Flying Club after 10/19/04.

You must be registered at
https://www.flightschoolcandidates.gov/fsindex.html

==============================
Note to All:

Until further office personnel training takes place, the definition of
"Club office personnel" is:

· (club president's name deleted).

This list will be will expanded next week.

==============================
AGAIN in Summary as of 10/20/04:

· ALL members that are US Citizens, must have additional documents
scanned before their next flight.

· ALL CFI's must be registered with the TSA as providers and be FAA
enabled in order to teach at Squadron 2 Flying Club after 10/19/04

· ALL members that are not US Citizens must consult Club office
Personnel
---------------------------UNQUOTE---------------------------

Upon reading this at work, I called a friend who also flies at
Squadron 2.
He drove to Squadron 2 and met a CFI there, who told him he is also
grounded.
In fact, everybody is grounded, even renters. Why? See above.

The problem is, Squadron 2 is mis-applying 49 CFR Part 1552 (which
only pertains to FLIGHT TRAINING OPERATIONS) to RENTAL operations.

My friend, who is not a citizen but was born in Europe and has a
"Green Card", has no intention at all to seek any more flight training
(he just wants to continue to rent) and he is more than non-plussed by
this sweeping and arbitrary interpretation of 49 CFR Part 1552.

This mis-interpretation of a government rule which only pertains to
FLIGHT TRAINING causes him monetary damage (the yearly club membership
fee is some $350 and they don't allow him to fly now) and he is
considering filing a lawsuit against Squadron 2.