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Political correctness and paranoia over guns is rapidly spreading in our nation’s public schools, with a series of incidents where students have been suspended and expelled for even “imaginary” guns or for playing with toy weapons off campus.
Perhaps one of the most egregious overreactions to guns occurred in Florida, where an 8-year-old student at Harmony Community School was suspended for pointing his finger as a pretend gun while playing a game of cops and robbers with his pals.
The child’s mother is concerned that due to the suspension he will now have a “violent” label placed on his academic record. She said, “He had nothing in his hand. It was a finger gun, a pretend gun. He didn’t threaten violence, He didn’t utter words that were inappropriate. He made a sound and used his fingers and that was it.”
Meanwhile, in Mesa, Arizona, a principal at Entz Elementary School reportedly asked the police officer father of a student not to come onto the campus ever again while wearing his uniform. Some parents were concerned, even “shocked and upset” about the holstered firearm on the law enforcement officer’s hip.
Scott Urkov, the father, posted about the incident on Facebook.
Keep Your Handgun Locked and Loaded, Ready For Instant Use – Without Fear Of An Accident!
“Nothing like your kids’ school calling and asking if I could not come to pick up my daughter in uniform cause parents were concerned when their kids came home telling them there was a man at school with a gun,” the father wrote. “Are you freaking kidding me?”
During an interview with local KSAZ-TV, Urkov said he was told to stop discussing the Entz Elementary School incident and “let it be.” Hopefully the Arizona police officer and the thousands of dedicated local heroes like him, do not merely “let it be.” Even though the principal later stated that he was sorry if he had offended the officer and felt maybe his request had been taken the “wrong way,” giving into such illogical paranoia will only breed more such incidents.
A Mesa Unified School District representative stated that some parents were worried about having a fully armed police officer on school grounds. After all the public backlash, the officer was invited to speak at a special assembly to inform students what police officers do in their community.
Suspended Over Backpack Keychain
Meanwhile, in Rhode Island, a 12-year-old boy was suspended after taking a quarter-sized gun keychain to school in his backpack. The Alan Shawn Feinstein Middle School student was also barred from an upcoming field trip after the miniature gun keychain fell out of his backpack.
In Georgia, a student was charged with a felony for having a fishing knife in a tackle box in his car. The 17-year-old Lassiter High School student was arrested after drug-sniffing dogs detected the black powder smell from a single leftover Fourth of July firecracker.
During the search after the hit on the car by the dogs, officers searched a closed tackle box and found the avid angler’s fishing knife. Senior Cody Chitwood had this to say after being released on bond, “It’s pretty ridiculous. I have an attorney and I’m hoping to get the felony dropped so I can still get into the Air Force.”
In Virginia, two Virginia Beach middle school students were suspended for the rest of the school year for playing with airsoft guns in their own front yard. They were waiting for the school bus. The pair of 13-year-old boys will appear in court in January to find out if they will be expelled for the “possession, handling and use of a firearm.” The charges reportedly stem from the fact that the two Virginia middle school boys were shooting the airsoft guns at the other friends they were playing with.
Suspended For Turning His Own Knife In
In Pennsylvania, a student was suspended for having a knife in his pocket at a football game. The 10-day suspension was ordered against David Schaffner III, 16, after he accidently arrived at a school football game with his hunting knife still in his pocket. The young man had used the knife earlier that afternoon and had forgotten it was still in his pocket. Schaffner realized his error quickly and returned to the entrance gate and turned the knife into a security officer. Basically, the Pennsylvania student was suspended for doing the right thing. The weapons violation on his school record could harm his chances at getting into college.
“I’m not looking to be rewarded for being honest. I just don’t want to be punished for it and I would just like to go back to school and a regular way of life,” the student told Fox News.