TRENTON — Airport screening procedures have become so intrusive that scanning amounts to a virtual strip search and patdowns feel like a grope.

So say a group of New Jersey legislators who joined with civil liberties advocates Monday to announce their opposition to the Transportation Security Administration’s latest screening measures — and to call upon Congress and President Obama to reign in the Transportation Security Adminstration.

"Enough is enough," state Sen. Michael Doherty (R-Warren) said during a press conference at the Statehouse. "We believe there are constitutional violations taking place. We believe there are violations of New Jersey state law taking place."

The lawmakers spoke out amid a growing chorus of privacy and health concerns about the screening process by civil liberties advocates, religious groups, unions for pilots and flight attendants and others. Earlier on Monday, TSA Administrator John Pistole appeared on NBC’s today show, where he said the agency was searching for a balance between security and privacy.

Monday night, Pistole issued a statement in direct response to the lawmakers’ concerns.

"Less than one year after al Qaeda’s failed attack last Christmas Day, it is irresponsible to suggest travelers opt out of the very screening that may prevent an attack using non-metallic explosives," Pistole said in the statement. "This technology is not only safe, it’s vital to aviation security and a critical measure to thwart potential terrorist attacks. "

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A TSA spokeswoman, Ann Davis, added that the agency, "looks forward to discussing this issue with the lawmakers directly."

In a bipartisan show of concern, Doherty was joined by Sen. James Beach (D-Camden) in introducing a state Senate resolution Monday, "urging Congress and the President to address privacy concerns raised by the advanced imaging technology employed at airports or to discontinue their use."

An Assembly version was introduced by Republicans Alison McHose and John DiMaio, with Democrat Valerie Vanieri Huttle. All three appeared at the press conference, along with Deborah Jacobs, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey.

"I hope that legislatures in other states are going to pass resolutions," Jacobs said.

Doherty later suggested Gov. Chris Christie seek an opinion on the legality of the scanners and patdowns under the New Jersey and U.S. Constitution from state Attorney General Paula Dow.

A Christie spokesman, Michael Drewniak, said the governor would consider the proposal. But, he added, "It’s a federal issue."

The Washington D.C.-based Electronic Privacy Information Center has filed a federal suit to block the scanners’ use, alleging they violate the Fourth Amendment’s protection against unreasonable search. The scanners penetrate passengers’ clothing, essentially producing nude black-and-white images viewed remotely by a TSA screener.

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A YouTube cellphone video posted over the weekend by a man who refused to be scanned at San Diego International Airport and then objected to being patted down has racked up more than 200,000 views. The man, John Tyner, 31, was ultimately turned away by the TSA agents.

Scanning is optional, but passengers who chose instead to pass through a metal detector are subject to a patdown in which screeners touch their breasts and genitals. Lawmakers said even children have been subject to the patdowns, conduct they derided as potentially criminal in other situations. The new patdowns coincide with last month’s arrival of full-body scanners at John F. Kennedy and Newark Liberty International Airports, where the TSA plans to have scanners at all security checkpoints by year’s end.

Monday in Newark, all three checkpoints in Terminal B had at least one scanner, though none were in use. The TSA says 98 percent of passengers agree to be scanned. And despite the lawmakers’ concerns, Ken Kewley said he would, too.

"It’s okay," said Kewley, 57, of Easton, Pa., an artist flying to Arkansas for a teaching job. "I have nothing to hide."