Florida teen detained by TSA for design on her purse

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**WARORK93**

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/florida-teen-detained-tsa-design-her-purse-221835034.html

"It's not unusual for 17-year-old to find themselves in hot water with the fashion police. But on a flight from Virginia to Florida, Vanessa Gibbs found herself detained by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) over the appearance of her purse.

And just to be clear, it wasn't the content inside the purse that the TSA objected to. No, agency officials took exception with the design of a gun on Gibbs' handbag.

"It's my style, it's camouflage, it has an old western gun on it," Gibbs told News4Jax.com. Gibbs didn't run into any trouble while traveling north from Jacksonville International Airport. But on her way back home, TSA officials at Norfolk International Airport pulled her aside.

"She was like, 'This is a federal offense because it's in the shape of a gun,'" Gibbs said. "I'm like, 'But it's a design on a purse. How is it a federal offense?'"

After TSA agents figured out the gun was a fake, Gibbs said, they told her to check the bag or turn it over. By the time security wrapped up the inspection, the pregnant teen missed her flight, and Southwest Airlines sent her to Orlando instead. The changed itinerary created no small amount of anxiety for Gibbs' mother, who was already waiting for her to arrive at the Jacksonville airport.

"Oh, it's terrifying. I was so upset," said Tami Gibbs, the teen's mom. "I was on the phone all the way to Orlando trying to figure out what was going on with her. It was terrifying."

Less terrifying is the actual design on the purse, which is only a few inches in size and hollow. "I carried this from Jacksonville to Norfolk, and I've carried it from Norfolk to Jacksonville," Vanessa said. "Never once has anyone said anything about it until now."

Nonetheless, the TSA says the design could be considered a "replica weapon," something that the agency has banned since 2002. Just imagine what would have happened if Gibbs had also been wearing stiletto heels."

Found this on Yahoo just a few minutes ago. Frankly I find it disgusting how shallow and superficial this is getting...

Weapons, replicas, and objects that can be used as weapons are one thing...but a design on a handbag somehow being misconstrued as threatening?

For feth's sake people...

A picture of the offending accessory:

Discuss please...

**SagesStone**

I could understand the grenade belt buckle from a fair while ago (showed up in x-ray as a real grenade), but really? She must be some sort of spy then if that gun can fire.

**Jihadin**

I'm going with the Xray screen showing the outline. The thread on the "weapon" seems pretty thick to actually make a shadow of one.

**WARORK93**

Its not even an entire fething gun! Its a design and has no working parts...

Apparently now pictures of weapons can be used to hijack planes...

Let me into the cockpit before I shoot one of the stewardess' with this belt buckle!

Spoiler:

I mean, I understand the intial confusion could have been through the x ray...but you could just look at it, examine it for a few seconds, and anyone could figure out that it isn't a real weapon...

**AustonT**

The TSA keeps us safe from the terrorists again!
I say good work, keep the handicaps, elderly, children, and preggo teens at bay! You there with the beard, shifty eyes, and taqiyah no no don't worry about the security checks go on by, have a safe flight.

**InquisitorVaron**

It could've concealed a gun. They were wrong and It was bad but and the end of the day safety is a priority, what If it was a gun and she Hijacked a plane? We'd all be complaining about them then, seems they lose either way.

So better safe than sorry. But even so, she doesn't really look like a terrorist.…

**Jihadin**

I see TSA being a bit...perturbed about it. I put that up there with the word "bomb" being mention at a airport.

**SOFDC**

Ya know, there's a reason why I don't fly anymore, and it isn't because I'm deathly afraid someone on my plane might be a terrorist.

what If it was a gun and she Hijacked a plane?

Since most people in this country seem to equate "We've been hijacked" to "We gonna get rammed into a building!" since 2001? We'd probably see a hundred+ people rush her, stomp her half to death and chuck her out the door at 14,000 feet.

**BrassScorpion**

Tackiness is now considered a security threat.

**Kilkrazy**

It seems to me that in this kind of incident the TSA (or another authority) pull a bit of a silly blooper.

When the innocent member of the public protests, she is deemed to be disrespecting their "Authoritah". She is therefore subjected to the full "security" process.

Naturally, disobeying instructions is an offence punishable with Tazering/gassing, etc.

**Howard A Treesong**

Jihadin wrote:I'm going with the Xray screen showing the outline. The thread on the "weapon" seems pretty thick to actually make a shadow of one.

Wouldn't it look too small though? Perhaps they saw the gun shape and weren't convinced it was the object causing the image they had seen. I had the x-ray machine at an airport pick up my shaving razor and it just looked like an odd little implement on their screen. So I tried to explain to them what it was, they worked in an international airport and didn't know any english? Yeah right. In the end I took it out and showed it to them and they seemed to take quite a while to decide it was the item. Thankfully they didn't, expect me to empty my bag on the spot.

**d-usa**

SOFDC wrote:Ya know, there's a reason why I don't fly anymore, and it isn't because I'm deathly afraid someone on my plane might be a terrorist.

what If it was a gun and she Hijacked a plane?

Since most people in this country seem to equate "We've been hijacked" to "We gonna get rammed into a building!" since 2001? We'd probably see a hundred+ people rush her, stomp her half to death and chuck her out the door at 14,000 feet.

This is one of only two things that have made in impact on aviation security post 9/11 IMO.

The first is securing the cockpit.

The second is that passengers now know that they must stop any attack in progress or face death.

Just look at the sky marshal program and the attacks we have had since 9/11. Every on-the-plane attack has been stopped by passengers, not the sky-marshals. By the time they make it to the attacker they have already been neutralized by passengers and crew, all the marshal have done is put them in cuffs.

**Jihadin**

Xray operator/s are so highly trined on spotting objects....Actually if in doubt call it out is a safe rule. Question would be how the TSA personnel handle it. As far as they know it a was a joke played on them. To me IMO its up there with don't screw off using the word "bomb" at a airport.

**dogma**

BrassScorpion wrote:Tackiness is now considered a security threat.

And the gay agenda marches ever forward.

Or, for real comedy...

**AlmightyWalrus**

dogma wrote:
BrassScorpion wrote:Tackiness is now considered a security threat.

And the gay agenda marches ever forward.

Or, for real comedy...

...I just cried a little bit inside. "Distorting Biblical teachings"?

Seriously, this is the very reason many people starve in the world and it's making me sick.

**halonachos**

n0t_u wrote:I could understand the grenade belt buckle from a fair while ago (showed up in x-ray as a real grenade), but really? She must be some sort of spy then if that gun can fire.

In Virginia you can buy a gun that size that fires for about $250.

**d-usa**

My LCP is not too much bigger than that.

**Ma55ter_fett**

17 and pregnant... *sigh*

**halonachos**

Ma55ter_fett wrote:17 and pregnant... *sigh*

I think they added that in just to make the TSA seem like bigger idiots than they were. All of this is, is a case of safe instead of sorry.

**DIDM**

I love how they throw pregnant teen in there

like that matters?

**WARORK93**

The point isn't that they neded to check it out...I can completely understand that...the point is that they detained her for an extended period of time when and examination by one or two people could have found it was just a purse design and not a gun that has moving parts or actual bullets...

Seriously, how long does it take to look through the contents of a purse? Two or three minutes...by the time they were done she'd already missed her plane and had to go to different airport altogether...I dunno about you but I'd be pretty pissed if that were me...

**halonachos**

Still the rules are the rules and the TSA doesn't like replicas of guns. In fact the airport in question has signs that say "No bombs, no guns, and no jokes" so I don't know why they didn't stop her before.

**ArbeitsSchu**

The pregnancy part is no doubt mentioned because large amounts of undue stress can be bad for an unborn child and the mother, and because it makes them look like even bigger tools than they actually are.

**Howard A Treesong**

Ma55ter_fett wrote:17 and pregnant... *sigh*

What conclusions have you drawn?

**WARORK93**

halonachos wrote:Still the rules are the rules and the TSA doesn't like replicas of guns. In fact the airport in question has signs that say "No bombs, no guns, and no jokes" so I don't know why they didn't stop her before.

Its not a replica gun though, its a design on a purse that looks like one...

If the term "replica gun" can be stretched to cover thigns like that then before you know it people will be detained for any sort of clothing that has any sort of weapon or weapon looking object on it...Why stop there? Next it'll be necklaces and ear rings and tattoos and whatever else they decide to have a beef with...

**Kilkrazy**

halonachos wrote:Still the rules are the rules and the TSA doesn't like replicas of guns. In fact the airport in question has signs that say "No bombs, no guns, and no jokes" so I don't know why they didn't stop her before.

Because a picture of a gun is neither a gun nor a replica of a gun, and the TSA people on duty the previous time were not dickheads.

**Avatar 720**

WARORK93 wrote:Seriously, how long does it take to look through the contents of a purse?

You don't want to know... ever...

A woman's purse runs on Time Lord technology; it is much, much bigger on the inside.

**halonachos**

Again, they count "no jokes". The airport is close to ours, and the world's, largest naval base so anything viewed as a threat is usually dealt with. Perhaps the people here weren't gun experts and maybe the people there last time were just lazy and there for a paycheck.

Also, here's a comparison.

They can make them small as hell and before you say anything about people wouldn't stick a real gun on the side of their purse to hide it, people do stupid things and hide things in the craziest of places, usually their anus.

**Kilkrazy**

Dangerous things those miniature guns.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1351037/Airport-bans-toy-soldiers-inch-rifle-plane--safety-threat.html

**halonachos**

It can pierce skin and lodge itself in someone's chest. I think that someone made one in Switzerland the size of a keychain that fires at a fast enough rate to kill someone using a small cartridge.

Even a .22 can kill you know.

Swiss minigun, and yes it can fire a round at around 400 feet per second.