Thanks for the replies guys, I just checked with my two friends, they didn't have to remove their photography gears on their recent trips. I'll just pay attention to the crowds. Also my wife flies quite frequently for her work, she never saw anyone removing their photography gears, only laptops and tablets.

Sean, last year I traveled to Vietnam with my wife and my 20 month old son, we brought non refrigerated milk for the 18 hour flight for him. TSA allowed you to bring milk for your kids but you have to be subjected to a full body pat down. The TSA agent asked if I wanted the pat down done in a private room, I decided to get it over with and done right there in front of hundreds if not thousands of other travelers. Never felt so violated in my life