Saturday, February 14, 2009

Zero Tolerance = Zero Common Sense

"Here we go again. In yet another case of over reactive, one-size-fits-all, "zero-tolerance," zero-common sense enforcement, Marie Morrow, an honors student and drill‑team commander in the Young Marines, was recently expelled from school. Her crime? She left three rifle shaped drill team props in the back of her car at Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora, Colo. Colorado law mandates expulsion for any student found with a "dangerous weapon" on school grounds, which includes "a firearm facsimile that could reasonably be mistaken for an actual firearm."

"The non-operative rifle props are used during drill routines, where the facsimiles are spun and tossed. The props are made of wood and plastic, are heavily duct‑taped and, of course, cannot function and were never intended to. Morrow had brought them to school because she was preparing for a competition at the Air Force Academy in April and planned to attend a practice right after school."

Source: NRA Institute for Legislative Action
NRA-ILA Grassroots Alert Vol.16, No. 6 2/14/09

This reminds me of the elementary school student who was kicked out of school for a tiny, plastic pistol less than 1" in size that was on his keychain. And the kid who took an empty cartridge to school that had been given to him by a vet on Veterans Day.

What in the world is wrong with School Boards and school district personnel??? Instead of teaching gun respect and gun safety, they adopt stupid rules that don't even address situations correctly.

If you want to write to the principal of Cherokee Trail High School, send your email to Brooke Gregory, Principal, at egregory@cherrycreekschools.org Please be polite. I'm sure she feels she was just following School District policy at the risk of her own job. At least, I hope so.

Could something like this happen in Woodstock?

2 comments:

Gus said...

Received this from an out-of-state reader who sent it to me via email:

"Unbelievable! What a great way to treat our future Marines Corps recruits. She just wanted to practice a time honored function of the military and she gets the crap. I am writing the principal. Gee, you better send me home because I want to play in the sandbox and you can make bricks out of sand... makes perfect sense-"

Gus said...

Sunday's Denver Post (www.denverpost.com) reports that Marie Morrow will return to school, reporting that the School District Superintendent had decided she had been disciplined "enough".

The problem with school disciplines is that they are applied immediately and a student does not have the right to appeal and have the punishment delayed until the outcome of the appeal.

Why didn't school officials investigate and use common sense? There is no way that fake rifles, used for demonstration purposes only, would be mistaken for weapons.