Here's the crux of the matter - a two inch gun was taken because the TSA agent made a judgement call, and the TSA agent appears to lack judgement.
I don't think I can agree here.
I read this as "A two inch gun was taken because the TSA agent followed procedure over common sense and logic".
In all likelihood TSA agents are forbidden to deviate from the manual, which likely states that "replica guns are not allowed on airplanes."
The solution will likely be that the manual is amended to provide allowable dimensions for replica firearms, and TSA supervisors will be presented with tape measures to check to see if the gun in question is greater than the allowable 2 5/8" in length, and god help you if you leave home without first measuring your sock monkey's gun, or your stuffed bear's blunderbuss.
This defense fell apart the moment the TSA agent said "If I held it up to your neck, you wouldn’t know if it was real or not." In other words, she graduated from blindly following protocol to being an idiot.
Before we cast aspersions on the TSA agent, let's look at it from her perspective. The TSA has rules that say replica guns are not allowed on flights. The TSA is not likely an agency that smiles upon its front line employees exercising discretion. Her options are:
1) to confiscate the "offending" item, as supported by her training and the TSA policies, or
2) to decide the item is not a threat and let it pass security.
If she takes the first option, she risks a bit of media hullabaloo being directed at the TSA. If she takes the second she risks being wrong (what if it is a gun and someone is shot, what if someone on the airplane sees it and panics because they think it is a gun,...) and being held accountable.
And even if she lets it go through what's to say a supervisor who is evaluating the front line agents doesn't take note of a deviation from training/policy and fire her then?
The TSA agent was acting, in my mind, completely rationally given the framework under which she has to act. If we want to blame anyone here we need to look straight to the system.
Could you link to those rules? TIA.
"Why are you making me do this stupid thing?"
(I cannot agree that this thing is stupid, because that makes my job, and thus me stupid, so I'll grasp at straws to defend this action) "It's not a stupid thing! Here's a justification!"
While it's obvious to you and I standing here examining it that
it's a prop gun, if it were being wielded in a threatening
manner, it would be far less obvious, and it's reasonable to
assume that it could be perceived as a real threat.
However, I still think it was a dumb argument. Note that the closest small gun you linked with any chance at being lethal was 4-5 inches long. A gun half that size, which someone would have to basically hold with their thumb and forefinger, cannot possibly be menacing in any circumstance unless you are a Smurf.
"The SwissMiniGun C1ST is a double-action .09 caliber six-shooter that's just over two inches (5.5 cm) long weighing 0.7 oz (19.8 g). [...] The first product of the SwissMiniGun company of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, the C1ST is a miniature double-action (shoots each time you pull the trigger – no cocking of the gun required before shooting) six-shot revolver."
http://www.gizmag.com/worlds-smallest-revolver-swissminigun/...
http://www.impactguns.com/naa-22-combo-1-18in-22lr-22mag-cyl...
http://www.impactguns.com/naa-22-combo-1-18in-22lr-22mag-cyl...
That's a fully functional (and certainly lethal) gun, only slightly larger than the prop in question.
I'm about as anti-TSA a person as you'll find. I think the entire organization is broken beyond repair should be dismantled. I'm paranoid enough that my reason for always opting out of mm-wave scanners is that I think the government could be building a highly accurate database of people's bodies.
Even with my tinfoil-clad credentials... I think this was a pretty reasonable decision on the part of the TSA employee.
I shouldn't care, but I am gently worried about it. 'They' win, I guess.
It's certainly in the same ballpark, size-wise, as the prop in the article. Which, in my opinion, makes the TSA employee's actions reasonable.
Trust me... I think the TSA regulations are an absolute mess, and the vast majority are completely worthless.
"You can't bring carry things that look an awful lot like guns onto planes" seems pretty reasonable to me though... If it's really that critical that you bring your sock puppet prop with you, stick it in your checked bag...