( CNN ) -- Flying fashionistas with a thing for the Second Amendment may want to leave their gun-themed purses and other paraphernalia at home , lest they be flagged as a security risk and miss their flights . As she was flying home after the recent holiday weekend , Virginia Gibbs ' gun-themed purse was flagged as a security risk by Transportation Security Administration officials at the Norfolk , Virginia , airport . While Gibbs told CNN affiliate News 4 JAX that she 's carried the purse on many flights , the 17-year-old says she was told that the purse `` was a federal offense because it 's in the shape of a gun . I 'm like , ' a design on a purse . How is it a federal offense ? ' `` Purses or belts with gun emblems can fall under a TSA prohibition on replica weapons because they could be mistaken for a real weapon in the X-ray machine or by a fellow passenger . `` Security checkpoints may be impacted or closed because replica weapons like toy guns , novelty grenades , fake bombs and other items appear similar to the real thing when viewed through an X-ray machine , '' TSA spokesman Greg Soule said . `` Checkpoint closures cause significant delays , which can be avoided if passengers do n't bring these items to the airport . '' By the time TSA officials figured out that the purse was a fake , offering Gibbs the opportunity to give up the purse or check it , Gibbs had missed her flight and was placed on another to Orlando . Her frantic mother drove from Jacksonville to Orlando to pick her daughter up . Gibbs arrived at security 20 minutes before her flight was due to depart , which may have caused her to miss her flight , according to a security official . The TSA says it 's investigating her allegation that the purse has made it through airport security before .
Teen 's gun-themed purse gets flagged by TSA . The teen was carrying a gun in her purse. `` A design on a purse . How is that a federal offense ? '' teen asks .