TSA agent saves world from pistol-packing sock monkey

TSA agent saves world from pistol-packing sock monkey

Smiling monkeyThanks to an alert TSA agent in St. Louis, Mo., the world is now safe from “Rooster Monkburn,” a cowboy sock monkey whose tiny two-inch-long plastic pistol was confiscated, KING 5 reported Sunday.

According to KING, Phyllis May of Redmond, Wash., is “appalled and shocked and embarrassed all at the same time” about the incident that took place last Wednesday.

May, KING said, owns a small business making and selling the unique toys.

As she and her husband were preparing to return to Sea-Tac from St. Louis, she noticed one of her bags was missing.

“And the (TSA agent) held it up and said ‘whose is this?’” she recalled. “I realized oh, my God this is my bag.”

The agent then went through the bag that contained May’s sewing supplies and found the tiny pistol.

“She said ‘this is a gun,’” May said. “I said no, it’s not a gun it’s a prop for my monkey.”

“She said ‘If I held it up to your neck, you wouldn’t know if it was real or not,’ and I said ‘really?’” May added.

The TSA agent reportedly said she would have to confiscate the toy and was supposed to call the police.

“I said well go ahead,” May told KING. “And I said really? You’re kidding me right, and she said no it looks like a gun.”

“She took my monkey’s gun,” May said.

Since the incident, May has retained her sense of humor.

“Rooster Monkburn has been disarmed so I’m sure everyone on the plane was safe,” she said. “I understand she was doing her job but at some point doesn’t common sense prevail?”

May’s story, unfortunately, is not all that uncommon.

In Nov. 2010, for example, we reported that TSA agents terrorized a three-year-old girl, and a four-year-old girl was accused of of carrying a gun and labeled a “high security threat.”

Common sense, it seems, has not been government policy for at least the last five years.

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Joe Newby

Joe Newby

Joe Newby is an IT professional. He has written for Conservative Firing Line, Examiner, NewsBusters, and Spokane Faith and Values.

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