Ok, I'm going to offer a different perspective, then sit back with my flame suit on....
I have a Neighbor that was a senior in High school last year, and he and I went deer hunting one weekend during shotgun season. He got lucky and took a real nice buck. When I went to help him drag the deer out , I found the spent slug shell on the ground under his treestand, and picked it up and put it in my pocket. once we field dressed the deer and loaded it in his truck, we headed to the check in station. At that time I pulled the spent shell out of my pocket and put it in his cupholder. later the next week, while in school he was called to the office and the principal and two police officers were there, and the principal was holding the spent shell in his hand, and told him he was suspended for the remainder of the school year for violating the school firearms policy. A teacher was doing a random parking lot check and saw the shell in the cup holder and called the police and they broke into his truck and tore it apart looking for a shotgun, that wasnt there. I thought this was TOTAL B. S., and felt responsible since I put the shell in the cup holder. I'm all for keeping schools safe , but Dont you think that was a BIG over reaction ???
I can see your point, and it makes sense IF and only IF you accept the premise of public education in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate and respect the efforts of your parents for a career that I'm sure was very honorable and admirable. I just am of the opinion that public education has reached a point of wasting so many resources trying to please everyone that they rarely please anyone.
They call my house. my day off and they ask me to come to the school for a meeting with the principle. I go in there and they start lecturing me on the dangers of firearms.
I felt the same way myself, but I thought about it and decided to approach it in another matter. I did not want to come off as a mad gun owner,what I believe I sounded like to the principle and police officers was a level headed responsible gun owner. Believe me, I wanted to freak out on them but IMHO it would not have helped with the situation or preventing a negative steretype of the gun owner.This is where I'd have just about lost my mind & told them exactly what they could do with their lecture! This crap is out of control. I have a 4 1/2 year old son & all he talks about is guns & knives, and hunting & fishing. I know I'm getting called to the school on more than one occassion in the future, and they better close the doors when I get there because it's not going to be meant for everyone's ears.....
I felt the same way myself, but I thought about it and decided to approach it in another matter. I did not want to come off as a mad gun owner,what I believe I sounded like to the principle and police officers was a level headed responsible gun owner. Believe me, I wanted to freak out on them but IMHO it would not have helped with the situation or preventing a negative steretype of the gun owner.
I'm not a lawyer but I think that was illegal.
Freak out might have been the only way to make them see the error of their moronic ways. All you did was justify yourself . Nothing to put them in their place. I have no doubt they will not think twice about doing the same thing again.
You did good. I think half of the hysteria in schools is mind bending, and the other half is ignorance about firearms and ammunition. I have to admit though, kids now act differently about firearms than when I was in school. I don't remember anyone talking about blowing others away at all. We had fist fights, usually broken up by coach knocking our heads together and making us shake on it, and most boys had pocket knifes, but nobody drew them on each other. To many Liberal Hollywood types making millions off of shootem' up movies and gun using video games now in my humble opinion.For what it's worth:
Of course, they may have changed the regs to anything; since then.
- About 8 years ago the local school gave my 2 grandsons (in 3rd or 4th grade) a 3 day expulsion for having empty .22 casings in their pockets. I took them target shooting the day before, and most boys like to carry empty casings...
- I took them back to the Indianapolis school and demanded to see the school code or regulation banning scrap brass metal from school properties, and to enter that reg # on the expulsion papers. The principal called school police and asked them what to do. 10 minutes later, they were both back in class; and I was at home.
- The only regulation that the principal tried to show me was one that prohibited more than (IIRC) 1/4 ounce of explosive... She called police after I explained that propellent wasn't exactly an explosive and the .22 casings were spent/empty in any event.
With all the negative press that gun owners have been getting, then and currently, freaking out on them would not have helped to better the image of a gun owner but probably would've worked into their stereotype of us. Could I have handled it differently, absolutely. If it were to happen again, would I react the same, absolutely. To each their own.
This is where I'd have just about lost my mind & told them exactly what they could do with their lecture! This crap is out of control. I have a 4 1/2 year old son & all he talks about is guns & knives, and hunting & fishing. I know I'm getting called to the school on more than one occassion in the future, and they better close the doors when I get there because it's not going to be meant for everyone's ears.....
My son (now 9)was taught years ago that what is talked about AT home, stays AT home. NOT at school. I've never been called in to talk to them about anything
And he's able to completely seperate the 2? If someone at school starts talking about things that you guys talk about at home, it seems to me that it'd be hard for him to keep the 2 seperated. I definitely agree with what you're saying, but it seems like it'd be hard for a youngster to keep one conversation (with you at home) from rolling into another conversation with others. But hey, if it works - good deal.