Ridiculous goings on at St. Albans

[Anonymous]

This is a difficult issue. I generally am in favor of zero tolerance, but I am not sure why these boys had to be take away in handcuffs. That seems like an overreaction.

[Anonymous]

I think school people should know that boys do the absolute dumbest things without thinking. God only knows why women don't rule the earth.

[Anonymous]

They would have been in public school. Why not private?

[Anonymous]

I don't think anyone has a problem with the kid owning a BB gun. But when they initiated all the hoopla, no one knew what kind of gun it was.

[Anonymous]

I agree that even bright boys are capable of doing idiotic things. At least it gave me a chance to talk to my own sons about this. But I am convinced boys have no sense of consequences until they hit 25.

[Anonymous]

If people don't like a private school's rules on guns, they should go to another school. That's the beauty of private school - you don't have to go there. I don't want my minor child in a school with any type of gun because my wife and I are totally against them. Period. So I will send her to a school that has a zero tolerance policy. Other parents who don't mind airsoft, bb guns, automatic weapons, hunting knives, or anything else can just go to another school that permits one or more of them. I applaud St. Alban's and sending the kids off in handcuffs is a good way to show how serious they take the issue.

[Anonymous]

In response to this comment:

You are exactly what is wrong in this country. We pay school administrators big dollars for their professional judgment. Zero tolerance means zero judgment. We might as well hire a chimp to perform the administrator's job.

Administrators are tasked with the responsibility to make decisions and use good judgment. To refer to an administrator as a chimp is sad and disrespectful. Frankly while I can carry on about this comment, it is clear that your mindset is beyond repair. Students should not bring weapons to school. End of story. Should the boys be prosecuted for a crime? No. But they should be disciplined and the administrator should have responded with caution.

[Anonymous]

In response to:

If people don't like a private school's rules on guns, they should go to another school. That's the beauty of private school - you don't have to go there. I don't want my minor child in a school with any type of gun because my wife and I are totally against them. Period. So I will send her to a school that has a zero tolerance policy. Other parents who don't mind airsoft, bb guns, automatic weapons, hunting knives, or anything else can just go to another school that permits one or more of them. I applaud St. Alban's and sending the kids off in handcuffs is a good way to show how serious they take the issue.

I agree 100%. Weapons are weapons. A pocket knife is just as dangerous as a butcher knife. They both can cause damage. There is no gray areas here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They would have been in public school. Why not private?

Because private school kids get a pass on everything. It's the best way to help nourish that entitlement mentality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think this was an overreaction as we should always err on the side of caution. Zero tolerance is zero tolerance. Parents need to feel that their children are safe.

You are exactly what is wrong in this country. We pay school administrators big dollars for their professional judgment. Zero tolerance means zero judgment. We might as well hire a chimp to perform the administrator's job.

And, as for parents' need to feel their kids are safe--our kids are safe, and they are no less safe because police find a bb gun in the locked back seat of a jeep. We live in a frickin' city, where there is a murder a day and guns and knives are wide-spread. Never mind that the city is a target for terrorists. Arresting two kids for the bb gun gives you a *false* sense of security, because the only thing that has happened is easy-picking--kids who made a mistake--while the more difficult, and deadly, threats are still out there.

We can't pick and choose when rules should apply. Zero judgment? How on earth can someone operate a school using zero judgment. Your perspective is a bit out of touch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Good grief. Thanks for reminding me why we chose to live in VA with the rednecks instead of in DC with the crazies. Just last week I transported my son's friend's airsoft gun -- across state lines no less (from MD to VA) -- so that they could play after school in our woods (yep, we have woods in VA). Had I gone to DC for an errand and a police officer looked into the back of my SUV (which already appears highly suspicious in DC because it sports a pro-life bumper sticker), I guess I could have been arrested, too. I understand why parents living in DC would not want their sons playing with BB guns, because most people do not have yards big enough to allow safe play. But since some of us in MD and VA do, and some of us feel this is much healthier recreation than socializing with strangers on facebook or sitting in front of a giant screen playing Guitar Hero, DC law enforcement obviously needs to take into account that this is a metropolitan area and not arrest teenagers, who presumably had a MD license plate on their car, for forgetting to take the BB gun out of the back seat!

Thoughtful post, but is it true airsoft guns are illegal in DC or can't be transported across state lines? Airsoft guns use plastic pellets, have a red tip for identification as a toy gun (which cannot legally be removed), and sting you. Good grief, there are dozens of 7th and 8th grade boys in DC that responsibly use airsoft guns (google the term to learn more, even if you're ardently pro gun-control). On the other hand, BB guns use smaller steel ammo, and can be deadly, and apparently are either illegal in DC, or illegal to bring into DC. If BB guns were not illegal, then the police maybe should have just removed the gun from the jeep (after securing the search warrant), and let the school handle the discipline, since the incident occurred on private property. In a pre-Columbine era, and maybe in a non-urban area, this incident might have resulted in a stern admonishment from a teacher about not bringing BB guns on school grounds in the back of your car. Post-Columbine, post 9/11, in a city with disproportionate gun violence (although admittedly not in upper NW DC), the police acted properly. Better safe than sorry. Police procedure unfortunately requires a handcuffed arrest.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In response to:

If people don't like a private school's rules on guns, they should go to another school. That's the beauty of private school - you don't have to go there. I don't want my minor child in a school with any type of gun because my wife and I are totally against them. Period. So I will send her to a school that has a zero tolerance policy. Other parents who don't mind airsoft, bb guns, automatic weapons, hunting knives, or anything else can just go to another school that permits one or more of them. I applaud St. Alban's and sending the kids off in handcuffs is a good way to show how serious they take the issue.

I agree 100%. Weapons are weapons. A pocket knife is just as dangerous as a butcher knife. They both can cause damage. There is no gray areas here.

My guess is that the school administrators would have preferred to discipline the kids on their own, so I disagree that the school wanted the handcuffs. Police procedure superseded what the school probably wanted. The kids were not using common sense. Even a water pistol can look like the real thing if you painted it black.

[Anonymous]

To 10:09, I googled the airsoft question last night, found a website called strikeback.com that says airsoft guns are illegal in DC. Don't know if that's true, but I won't take any chances! So maybe all those parents of 7th and 8th graders in DC using airsoft guns need to double check the DC Code.

[Anonymous]

I love the idea that a gun visible "in the locked backseat of a Jeep" is somehow render harmless and secured. Hell, a nav system in a locked car in upper NW DC is sufficient enticement for thieves to break in. Sometimes a roll of quarters.

[Anonymous]

Also, 10:09, the part about "crossing state lines" was a joke. I'm sure there's no problem as long as you're not crossing into DC. The website I referred to is actually called strikebacknow.com. Also see http://injury.findlaw.com/personal-injury/personal-injury-a-z/airsoft-guns.html, which also reports that airsoft guns are illegal in DC and a few other jurisdictions. DC middle schoolers, beware!