UK airport cop: gun-shaped shirt decoration is illegal

[Erebus]

Tuesday, November 7, 2006

Kristan sez, "I was coming into Birmingham on transit to Singapore from Palma when I was stopped by a customs officer. I was wearing a stripy jumper with the shape of a pink gun sewn on to the front.
"The customs officer stopped me to let me know that if I was leaving the country through Birmingham then he was going to have to arrest me because I had a gun on my jumper. I know it isn’t best to argue with these sort of people but I had to question whether he had confused a pink fabric gun shape stuck on a jumper to that of a real gun. His answer – Some people wore t-shirts which had photo’s of guns in holsters or positioned to look as though they were guns sticking out of trousers (as it happened I had one of these in my bag. I wonder if I could have been done for concealing a t-shirt?

"But for me that argument didn’t stand well as I wasn’t wearing a life like looking image of a gun. When I posed this to him he changed his tune a bit and explained that the reason he wanted to arrest me was due to the fact that wearing the fabric shape of a gun on my jumper was offensive."

There is a picture of the shirt here LINK

Can't find anymore on this and was wondering if she was actually arrested. Anyone seen anything about this anywhere else? All I am finding is repeats of the same blog entry. I can't find any real news articles.

 

[Autolycus]

Wow. I just cant believe the nanny state. He has a drawing of a gun in his bag. Call the police!!!

Ah the joys of the nanny state.

 

[Buck Nekkid]

It wasn't really all that long ago that the U.K. was a world power. Now it appears that they are a whining bunch of pant wetters. A frickin' PINK embroidered pistol and they just leak all over the place...unbelievable!

 

[doubleg]

 

[McCall911]

Where is Sir Winston Churchill when you need him?

 

[MarkDido]

Doing about 1200 rpm in his grave.

 

[Manedwolf]

Soon in the UK, you'll be able to mug someone by finding a picture of a gun on the web, printing it out and showing it to them.

 

[highlander 5]

I know this sounds ridiculous but I think it's time to stop going to these 3rd hellholes.we should start writing letters to the various consulates here in this country and advise them of this kind of stupidity. I for have no interest in going to some God forsaken country or some nanny state where they HATE us as Americans but love the money we bring Let the BASTARDS starve for all I care
There are so many things in this country that most have never seen and for some have no appreciation for,the Grand Canyon,Painted Desert,the National Park system and others that are to few to mention.
If I were able I'd be in a Mini Wini cruising the country looking at the absolutely amazing variety of sights to see in this country.

 

[armoredman]

Highlander, c'mon down to visit AZ, we have open carry, and a great shall-issue CCW permit... But the National Park/National Monument systems still don't allow carry of any kind, unfortunately...but National Forests do allow legal carry.

 

[rnr4me]

Several years ago I was working for a company that did business w/ movie theaters. One of the theater managers gave me a coat that had the logo for the Bruce Willis movie Armaggedon. A fairly big attraction if not a hit.

I had to return to the US through the Toronto cutsoms. A couple Canadian custom officers told me that they should arrest me because the logo on the coat was 'subversive'!! I guess they didn't have a life and never heard of the movie.

 

[agricola]

Sounds like rubbish to me - there is no basis in law for what is alleged, and no supporting information, but its nice to see the usual behaviour again from some admittedly new (to me) people. Maybe Standing Wolf is afk?

 

[Zero_DgZ]

Forget Syria. Can't we just, like, invade the UK or something and liberate these poor people?

 

[fourays2]

wow, I got a hard time from the Birmingham airport security folks this summer. I was wearing the "celbrate diversity" shirt which has pictures of lots of handgun on it and I get singled out for the whole works. I let them know what I thought of the whole BS procedure. I was born there and am sadened how the place has gone down the tubes in the 15 years since I left.

 

[Fn-P9]

He wasnt airport security, he was the fashion police.

Beside why would you wear a shirt like that anyways. I am not really sure 2A rights apply here. lol The senario is rediculous in all respects on the whole.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Soon in the UK, you'll be able to mug someone by finding a picture of a gun on the web, printing it out and showing it to them.

Nah... They'll outlaw printers soon, just so this can't happen.

 

[Trip20]

I agree with the customs officer. Brown yellow and pink? I've crapped better palettes than that shirt offers. The shirt is offensive.

 

[Crashola]

I agree. He should have been arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for wearing one ugly friggin shirt.

 

[F4GIB]

TSA has been known to object to plastic Glock pins (less that 1 INCH long).
The security industry seems to have become one giant asylum full of judgementless paranoids.

 

[thexrayboy]

The problem was it was a gun shaped non firearm. Those are definitely illegal.
If I recall this is from the same group of people that had a collective coronary because someone found a single .22lr round lying helpless on the ground just waiting to assault some poor passerby. I sure hope this is some stupid urban legend because it is hideously depressing to think that a real person could be so stupid as to be concerned about an embroidered outline on an article of clothing. And oh.....note to self. Stop worrying about offending other people with my choice of apparel. If they find it offensive they can look somewhere else.

 

[George S.]

Maybe the tee shirt should have had this picture on it:

 

[Robert Hairless]

How dare you post a photograph of a smoker. It's offensive. No smoker should be allowed a high position in any government at any time, much less have his photograph circulated in any approving manner.

Although it is true that Winston S. Churchill did manage to save his country at a time when it seemed doomed, it would have been far better if England had taken the high moral ground.

Nazi Germany, despite some bad things people have said about it, was an advanced country that had a non-smoker as its leader: Adolf Hitler was far ahead of his time and should be much admired in the United States of America for his refusal to allow smoking in his presence.

 

[George S.]

I would hate to be the one that would have to tell Sir Winston that he could not smoke his cigar, especially when he's holding that Tommy Gun!

 

[Sistema1927]

...he changed his tune a bit and explained that the reason he wanted to arrest me was due to the fact that wearing the fabric shape of a gun on my jumper was offensive."

Some of us find that people who deny the right to self-defense with real guns are offensive.

 

[iapetus]

I can't say if this is true or not.

If it is true, then it is an embarasment to my country.

But...


I'm sure I have seen dozens of posts on THR complaining about similar nonsense in the States from the TSA.

 

[Nicky Santoro]

Truly sad. I'll bet if it was an image of a grown man sodomizing a small boy, she would have been waved through. How the once mighty have fallen.