Airline Security Too Tight For Kevin Smith

A week ago from today, Kevin Smith was literally kicked off an airplane for being too fat. Apparently, Smith typically purchases two seats in advance for the sake of comfort. Unfortunately, he ended up flying standby on another flight, where only one seat was available. The situation was worsened when Southwest Airlines informed him that, because of his size, he had to leave. According to People, they felt justified in kicking Smith off for the following reason:

"If a customer cannot comfortably lower the armrest and infringes on a portion of another seat, a customer seated adjacent would be very uncomfortable and a timely exit from the aircraft in the event of an emergency might be compromised if we allow a cramped, restricted seating arrangement,"

For those of you who aren't familiar with Kevin Smith (photo courtesy of WireImage), he's directed several movies, including: Clerks, Mallrats, Chasing Amy, Dogma, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Jersey Girl, Clerks II, Zack and Miri Make a Porno, and Fanboys. He's also somewhat famous for playing the role of "Silent Bob" in some of these films.

Smith commented on the incident via Twitter by stating that "I broke no regulation, offered no 'safety risk' (what, was I gonna roll on a fellow passenger?)"

The fact that Kevin Smith was literally kicked off an airplane for being too fat may be kinda humorous, but it also paints a frightening picture of Airline Security in general. Is this bombardment of safety regulations really necessary? Could bulking up security to this degree really prevent someone from being injured or killed?