Free Republic

Criminals tend to be optimists, at least when it comes to carrying out crimes.  They often envision only one scenario, and assume that everything will go as planned. It is one of the reasons that many criminals depend on imitation, toy, or replica firearms.  A number of  states treat the use of a replica or imitation gun the same as the use of a real gun in a crime. No state requires a defender to determine if a gun pointed at them is real or imitation. There is no controversey in the law about that.  If the defender reasonably...

JACKSONVILLE, Fla.- Airport security agents say a replica gun is a replica gun, even if it was just a design on a Florida teenager's purse. The Transportation Security Administration says its agents acted appropriately when they ordered 17-year-old Vanessa Gibbs to check her designer purse at the Norfolk, Va., airport because of the image of a pistol it had on it. The agency said "replica weapons have been prohibited since 2002," and that means even a very obvious replica, said News4 Jax.com in Jacksonville, Fla. Gibbs remains flabbergasted at the hassle, which she says caused her to miss her flight...