H.S. Senior forgets shotgun in truck, tries to do right thing, charged w/felony

[Smokepole]

So call parent to fix the issue, get felony.

Leave it alone and play dumb, by chance it is random search day. Dog hints on firearm, gets felony.

Honestly I would have got a tardy and taken it home, but hindsight is 20/20.

When I read the article I thought the same thing. But he probably had a spotless record and wanted to keep it that way. Had being the operative word.

Anyhow, what I can't get over is this kid has an unloaded shotgun in his truck and catches a felony (because of some eavesdropping, sniveling, hand wringing puke), but the Vice Principle forgets and brings a LOADED handgun INTO the school and gets a misdemeanor. EXCUSE ME?!!??!! How far up their arse WAS the legislature's head anyway when writing these laws. How in the hell is the kids infraction worse than the V. PRIN's? How much dope was the Legislature smoking on those days? On this one the ENTIRE LEGISLATURE should qualify for the "Too Stupid to Survive" category and be replaced wholesale.

WOW, this country is in serious need of an enema.

And +100 for Liberty U. and Jerry Fallwell. -1,000,000 for the High School and the Legislature with a giant spitwad for good measure. Anybody got any brown lunch sacks and some lighter fluid? I got a big dog. With diarrhea. A healthy dose of juvenile, school retaliation seems appropriate for some silly reason.

 

[Hookeye]

I think the school over reacted, but then I also think the kid, of that age and supposedly a scout and a firearms owner, was an idiot.

 

[downzero]

When I read the article I thought the same thing. But he probably had a spotless record and wanted to keep it that way. Had being the operative word.

Anyhow, what I can't get over is this kid has an unloaded shotgun in his truck and catches a felony (because of some eavesdropping, sniveling, hand wringing puke), but the Vice Principle forgets and brings a LOADED handgun INTO the school and gets a misdemeanor. EXCUSE ME?!!??!! How far up their arse WAS the legislature's head anyway when writing these laws. How in the hell is the kids infraction worse than the V. PRIN's? How much dope was the Legislature smoking on those days? On this one the ENTIRE LEGISLATURE should qualify for the "Too Stupid to Survive" category and be replaced wholesale.

WOW, this country is in serious need of an enema.

You make an interesting point.

At common law, the list of felonies was short, and all were household names: burglary, robbery, murder, rape, etc.

Now, the legislature in Indiana has made petty theft a felony. Is this a good reason to take one's gun rights for life?

If the 2A is a constitutional right, and a felony takes that right from you, why does a legislature get to decide, by simple majority vote, what is a felony?

I think it's an issue worth exploring.

 

[Lex Concord]

You forgot he was homecoming King and he was operating an internet business from his garage and was about to sell it to Microsoft.

If he was so great and so smart he would have been smart enough to either take the gun out of his truck before hand or smart enough to keep his trap shut.

Right, because teenage boys are known for being cool, calm and collected under pressure along with thinking quickly on their feet.

The law is bull****, end of story.

 

[Lex Concord]

Anyhow, what I can't get over is this kid has an unloaded shotgun in his truck and catches a felony (because of some eavesdropping, sniveling, hand wringing puke), but the Vice Principle forgets and brings a LOADED handgun INTO the school and gets a misdemeanor. EXCUSE ME?!!??!!

Some animals are more equal than others.

 

[Smokepole]

You make an interesting point.

At common law, the list of felonies was short, and all were household names: burglary, robbery, murder, rape, etc.

Now, the legislature in Indiana has made petty theft a felony. Is this a good reason to take one's gun rights for life?

If the 2A is a constitutional right, and a felony takes that right from you, why does a legislature get to decide, by simple majority vote, what is a felony?

I think it's an issue worth exploring.

No argument there. And the decision process on what constitutes a felony can seem pretty arbitrary and lacking in common sense anymore. Removing a Civil Right should require a SERIOUS offense. But when one looks at what is considered a serious offense anymore can leave one scratching their head.

 

[sig-guy]

Some people may be absolute geniuses yet lack common sense.

^^^ Very true!

I know a kid that's very smart (high test scores, etc), yet 'common sense' isn't high on the list sometimes.

Many geniuses have created and done great things, but couldn't handle HS. It was to simple for their thought process.

 

[femurphy77]

You forgot he was homecoming King and he was operating an internet business from his garage and was about to sell it to Microsoft.

If he was so great and so smart he would have been smart enough to either take the gun out of his truck before hand or smart enough to keep his trap shut.

See there's the inherent problem with morals; sometimes the right thing to do isn't the smart thing or popular thing but you do it anyway because it's the right thing to do.

Just because "it's the law" doesn't make it right. Of course I'm sure nobody on this board has ever littered, drove faster than the limit, flicked a booger on somebody elses windshield etc.

 

[87iroc]

Im glad that he will be able to graduate and the college accepted him.

I remember once in middle school I was on a boy scout trip over the weekend and used by school backpack on the trip to do homework. Well monday around 3rd period I go to look for a book and realize i left my pocket knife in the bottom. I was afraid to call my mom about it for fear of what happened to his guy (there was a zero tolerance policy at my school). I remained paranoid all day till I got home and removed it.

I carried a pocket knife to school every day of my HS career(89-93)...only pulled it out when I was at a FFA mtg or in Shop Class to use it.

Stupid 'no knives allowed rules' didn't apply to this wanna-be farm kid

 

[jwh20]

Now they'd have a real dilemma on their hands if this kid suddenly decided to "come out" as a homosexual and claim that they're only persecuting him because of his sexual preferences.

But interestingly, since he seems to have been charged with violating a NC state law, a defense might be the NC State Constitution that says:

Sec. 30. Militia and the right to bear arms.
A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed; and, as standing armies in time of peace are dangerous to liberty, they shall not be maintained, and the military shall be kept under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power. Nothing herein shall justify the practice of carrying concealed weapons, or prevent the General Assembly from enacting penal statutes against that practice.

A bit more complicated than the Indiana Constitution but seemingly prevents the NC legislature from infringing the right to keep and bear arms EXCEPT concealed. Did he conceal the shotgun? If not, then this covers it. If he did conceal it, did he have it in accordance with whatever laws apply in NC concerning concealed firearms?

I continue to maintain that the Indiana laws concerning firearms on school property violated the Indiana Constitution that simply says:

The people shall have a right to bear arms, for the defense of themselves and the State.

So the current Indiana Code clearly violates that. Now I'm not [currently] of a mind to test that but eventually someone like this NC kid is going to run afoul of the "gun free" school zone law and take this to the IN Supreme Court. When that happens I certainly hope that court will strike the IC statute down. Actually no need in either case to invoke the US 2nd Amendment as in both cases the state constitution covers it.

 

[Kutnupe14]

That's a pretty loose interpretation.

 

[HotD]

I think the school over reacted, but then I also think the kid, of that age and supposedly a scout and a firearms owner, was an idiot.

The next time you forget something and try to mitigate the circumstances, be sure to let us know here on INGO, so you can be appropriately termed.

 

[DanVoils]

Kick in the butt is that when I was in high school I drove a pickup truck with a rifle rack in the window with my shotgun in it with no problems. There were a lot of times that other students and myself would go deer hunting in the morning before school. There were even a few times that I had a gutted deer in the bed under a tarp. No one said anything and there weren't any problems.
Go forward about 20 years and one of my sons gets expelled from school for having a "dangerous knife" on him. (Ignore the fact that I carried a pocket knife everyday just as most everyone did.) He was suspended for 3 days. It was a P-38 can opener on his key ring. The lunch lady saw it when he got his change out to pay for his lunch and told the office. He hadn't been in any kind of trouble or had any problems. Someone who hated their life decided to try and ruin someone else's. Brownsburg sure has changed!
Zero tolerance makes Zero Sense!

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

Yes he's an adult...yes he made a mistake. no one was hurt. Slap him on the hand and move on.

The fact that no one was hurt is not relevant here.

If that argument held water, officer Bisard would not have been arrested last weekend, as "no one was hurt". Does he deserve just a "slap on the hand" and we all move on?

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

Not at all saying that what has happened to the kid was fair though.

Being charged with a felony is quite a different thing from being "convicted" of a felony. This will be negotiated as it's his first offense and has circumstances. Give this time to see the final result.

 

[JettaKnight]

The next time you forget something and try to mitigate the circumstances, be sure to let us know here on INGO, so you can be appropriately termed.

No kidding. HE IS A KID - kids forget stuff all the time!

The fact that no one was hurt is not relevant here.

If that argument held water, officer Bisard would not have been arrested last weekend, as "no one was hurt". Does he deserve just a "slap on the hand" and we all move on?

Apples and Oranges. Your comparison between a potentially deadly activity (D&D) that should not EVER be done and non-dangerous activity (having a firearm secured in a car) that should be legal is specious at best.

 

[HDSilvrStreak]

Oh I agree that the "crimes" themselves are not comparable. What I'm saying is that punishment/treatment for breaking a law, any law, should not depend on if "no one got hurt". Wasn't trying to compare the crimes at all, only punishment.

 

[SERparacord]

No kidding. HE IS A KID - kids forget stuff all the time!

Maybe kids should not have access to guns then if you use that reasoning.

 

[Hotdoger]

The fact that no one was hurt is not relevant here.

If that argument held water, officer Bisard would not have been arrested last weekend, as "no one was hurt". Does he deserve just a "slap on the hand" and we all move on?

DUI is a felony?

 

[searpinski]

That sucks but you shouldn't forget your gun in your vehicle. He also should have just left school.