The TSA Hits a New Low in Absurdity

For the average, normal, sane person, a woman carrying a purse with a design like this presents absolutely no problems:



On the other hand, Transportation Security Administration officials @ Norfolk International Airport saw it as a violation of Federal law because it was in the shape of a gun. The TSA says the design could be considered a "replica weapon," something that the agency has banned since 2002.

A "replica weapon"????? Common sense says that even a cursory inspection of the purse would show that it is simply a design on the purse & would present no danger. Yet because of what was an absurd taking of the rules to an extreme beyond any application of common sense, 17 year old , Vanessa Gibbs missed her flight home to  Jacksonville International Airport. Instead she ended up in Orlando. The changed itinerary created no small amount of anxiety for the pregnant teen's mother, who was already waiting for her to arrive at the Jacksonville airport.

I can understand a valid concern about something that could clearly be used as a weapon. But as I said, this is carrying things way beyond common sense. & it is another example of how our entire airport security system needs to be rethought to ensure our real safety without totally violating all our rights as it often does now.

Source: Florida teen detained by TSA for design on her purse