Gun Design On Handbag Flagged As Security Risk

A teenager from Jacksonville, FL, was told by a TSA screener in Norfolk, VA, that carrying her purse with the design of an old-west six-shooter onto an airplane is a "federal crime,"  and had missed her flight by the time the issue was sorted out and the offending bag was checked through to ... Orlando.

The purse features a small raised metal representation of a revolver as a design element. The agency is holding firm, saying that the design is a "replica weapon," which have been prohibited since 2002. Television station WJXT in Jacksonville, FL, reports that Vanessa Gibbs, the pregnant teenager who carried the purse, said she had taken it many times between Jacksonville and Norfolk with no problems.

While the issue was resolved and Gibbs was allowed to keep her purse, but not carry it on the plane, she did miss her flight, and Southwest Airlines re-booked her to Orlando rather than Jacksonville. By the time she got word, Gibbs' mother was already at Jacksonville International Airport (KJAX) waiting for her to arrive. She had to drive to Orlando to retrieve her daughter.

The mother and daughter say that no one could have mistaken the design on the purse for a gun. TSA says it's better to be safe than sorry, and if there is any question about an item a passenger wishes to carry on to a plane, it has an extensive "prohibited items" list online and at airports posted prior to security checkpoints.

FMI: www.tsa.gov