TSA mostly avoids headlines in 2013 until an agent confiscates a toy gun from a sock monkey

The TSA avoided the major headlines which was a common problem for the agency over the last several years. One agent came forward to reveal fake searches and incompetence, but hardly felt a backlash from the public which was the case a year earlier.

No, the TSA lost its first agent in the line of duty and only made headlines in the final month over confiscating a toy gun which accompanied a sock monkey.

Only two weeks ago a Washington woman explained to local news stations how a TSA agent flagged her carry-on bag that contained “Rooster Monkburn,” a sock monkey modeled off John Wayne’s character in the film True Grit.

The agent took issue with Monkburn’s 2-inch toy pistol, saying “this is a gun” with the owner saying that it was just a toy. “If I held it up to your neck, you wouldn’t know if it was real or not,” the agent said.

The TSA issued a statement Monday saying that under “longstanding aircraft security policy, and out of an abundance of caution, realistic replicas of firearms are prohibited in carry-on bags.”

This includes two-inch plastic guns being toted by a sock monkey.

Hope you feel safe.

Image from the backscatter advanced imaging technology (AIT) machine used by the TSA to screen passengers. This is what the remote TSA agent would see on their screen. 2010 photo supplied by US Transportation Security Administration part of U.S. Department of Homeland Security