On the heels of the events at Sandy Hook, a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut, the nation has been abuzz with gun control debates.
This weekend, USAToday reported that a Pennsylvania girl, waiting for her bus to kindergarten, was suspended from school for her actions.
"Waiting in line for the bus, a Pennsylvania kindergartner tells her pals she's going to shoot them with a Hello Kitty toy that makes soap bubbles," said the article. The act landed the 5-year-old Eastern Pennsylvania girl in for suspension, as her district cited "terroristic threats" as its reasoning.
Can a 5-year-old commit a terroristic threat? Are our schools going too far? Are they not going far enough?
Voice your concerns, in favor of or against the act, below in the comments section.
Ann Hankins
9:34 pm on Monday, February 18, 2013
Few years back after a church run yard sale a boy who helped clean up after the event still had some un sold silverware in a box in the back of his truck, along with other items. He drove to school the next day, was immed. suspended for having a knife on school property...a butter knife, that was part of the unsold silverware set, still in a box in the back of his truck but in plain view enough for a teacher to spot it walking in. It's sad to live in a world where people are so HORRIFIED " something" may happen that we try to thwart things which were never crimes to begin with......
CorSolider
4:12 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
this is called Fear Mongering.
Nick Matregrano
7:27 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
How about we should start looking at some of these very violent video games that the kids are playing. Especially those individuals that play them 24/7, and the parentds who say, "It's only a game....".
mitchell brasher
8:36 am on Wednesday, February 20, 2013
It is the parents job to keep these things from their children not the police or my government.
CorSolider
8:03 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
@Nick Matregrano:
if you are taking that road, I would say for the 45 - 60 year olds out there, if they would do this they can say ' oh I did this because I was raised by watching WAR Clips on tv, it's just TV / it's just the news / it's just how life is'' kind of stuff, what the problem is parents don't want to take care of their kids anymore, so to distract them they will anything possible, you can even get that kind of info from BOOKS AT YOUR LOCAL LIBRARY! So you really need to make sure you point the blame where it needs to be. Each generation is getting more and more lazy, they want to do less and less to get more and more. We have access over all in 2013 then we did in 1963 / 1973 / 1983 / 1993 / 2003. Work ethic is DOWN, moral is DOWN. that is all due to FEAR MONGERING. Who will shoot me next, who will stab me next... next clip on the news ''Could your neighbor be brewing a meth lab in their basement, tune in at 11 to find out!" We are one of the most odd ball nations in the world, we are looked at by most country's as if we are the outcast Or as the loud mouth in the class. We live on a country that each generation loses more and more rights, and gain more and more lead butts.
Squidward Tentacles
2:36 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I really hate the fact that you totally dismissed the video game theory. Yes, parents are using video games as a distraction so that they don't need to parent, however the graphic, violent, next to real-life video games that kids are playing today can't even be remotely compared to reading about it in a book. How many kids go to the library to read about mowing people over with machine guns, and better yet, how many kids go to the library period? I grew up in the PlayStation and XBOX era, and let me tell you, there was nothing better than hopping on XBOX to blow people's heads off and then going to brag about how many kills you got to your friends. How many games were like that back in the day? I agree with your solution that parents need to actually start parenting, but to say that video games today aren't desensitizing children to violence is complete and utter BS.
tom blair
8:35 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Did this child have a license for such a high capacity weapon? The problem with the Hello Kitty soap bubble gun is that it is a assault weapon - it can fire multiple bubbles rapidly with one pull of the lever. No one needs needs a gun with the capicity of hundreds of bubbles. Think of the danger such a weapon poses to innocent children whose eyes are sensitive to soap. This weapon also poses an environmental catastophy to sensitive outdoor playgrounds. I know that Senator Bob Casey, and President Barak Obama are trying to protect us from horrors such as this. That's why we elected them. I know they will do the right thing.
Jack Minster
9:01 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The sobering reality is, regular old six-shooter bubble guns, which can only fire six bubbles at a time, in the hands of a practiced bubble-shooter could fire 20 bubbles in 28 seconds, with rapid bubble solution reloads. Logic then dictates that the ultimate progressive liberal solution is to ban all bubble guns, confiscate whenever possible, permanently expel these young offenders from schools, and ensure that felony convictions follow them through life on their permanent criminal records.
Little green plastic army men holding M1 Garands and mortars are flying off Toy-R-Us shelves before they are banned. G.I. Joe now wears yoga tights and comes with his own little mat. K-1 through elementary school students proudly display their over-developed forearm muscles from cutting paper arts and crafts with rubber scissors. What a brave new America we're creating.
Stephen Eickhoff
1:32 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
The second amendment only protects bubble-making devices that were available in 1792. So you can have bubble rings and buckets of lye soap suds!
Jack Minster
1:55 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Ah but then along came DC vs Heller, finally establishing that the Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
The historical tradition of prohibiting the carrying of dangerous and unusual weapons supports the holding in United States v. Miller that the sorts of weapons protected are those in common use at the time. In this case, the dreaded easily concealed "Hello Kitty" bubble gun.
AR-15, Mini 14, Barrett .50's and other "assault" bubble guns were in use in 2008 when the Supreme Court ruled, so the school violated Sally's Constitutional rights. I hope voters flush out that school board with soap and water.
http://www.lawnix.com/cases/dc-heller.html
Stephen Eickhoff
3:57 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Don't be ridiculous! Only muskets used in the national guard are covered, just like the first amendment only applies to the spoken word and newspapers because TV, radio, and the internet didn't exist!
andthatsthetruth
8:39 am on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I have to agree that the online games are not causing this kaos. Many years ago pin ball games had the background & game board with provocative pictures ~ almost naked women. Next someone will say that is where rape comes from.
School Districts are taking this to extreme for no tolerance. They are not acting with safety in mind first, which is OK & then investigating the situation to see if it makes logical sense before disciplining a 5 yr old for something that they have been brought up with as being pretend play. Any young child does not realize the severity of the events that have happened in this country recently. A moron can see that. The older 3rd grade ( maybe) can associate with Gabbys tragic situation & what makes it helpful is because he is an astronaut. A hero. Something else that is getting hard to find. Look at sports. It is going to have to take some time to reshape thoughts & ideas of play time. That's where non -cable regular TV has to go back to censored material as before. It has gotten way out of hand. Cable shows were always by choice. That is an adults responsibility to censor in their own home.
Squidward Tentacles
2:50 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
I disagree. As I said in an earlier post, I believe that video games have undergone major changes over the years. Having a pinball machine with pictures of naked women or even pictures of guns is nothing like the graphic and extremely realistic video games produced today. Prove me wrong, but in what video games back in the day was the SOLE PURPOSE of the game to assassinate as many people with machine guns as possible before time expires? I could list more games from today than I can count on two hands that fit that criterion because I grew up playing them. It always made me wonder why parents would allow their 12 or 13 year old to play games that are rated 18+. Honestly, I think that a lot of parents just don't understand just really what happens in these games and just let their kids play them because "it's just a video game".
Jack Minster
4:31 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
@Squidward,
Is there clinical evidence indicating that mass murderers were influenced to do evil deeds by playing Cops and Robbers, Cowboys and Indians, war games with imaginary weapons - all the things we Boomers did before violent video games? Crazy people are not a new problem, last time I checked. Have you seen any Audie Murphy, Lee Marvin, John Wayne movies? They make Tarrentino movies appear tame, because they were depicting real true violent battles.
Sane people know the difference between make-believe and reality. I propose that movies and games do not make sane people do crazy things. These entertain sane people, these provide a means of temporary escape from reality. If sane people want to act out the violence they experience playing online war games, they would enlist in the armed services - not shoot up innocents.
The mentally ill and criminals roam free; there is the problem. The ONLY problem. Nothing else but that. Bad parenting? Sure, you need a license to own a dog but any sociopath can become a parent. Yet when a kid commits a crime, does law enforcement pursue his parents? Do courts sentence his parents? No. Each of us is accountable for our deeds. Nobody's fault but ours.
Criminals roaming free is the problem. Mentally ill roaming free is the problem. Not legal gun owners, not Hollywood movie-makers, not Silicon Valley software engineers. Many are angry, but attacking the wrong cause/solution.
Shawn Cassidy
12:36 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
My daughter got in trouble in scholl for just talking about guns and a bb gun and a bow that we own at home she knows safety measures with the guns as well as paint balls
Joe Kicinski
1:15 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
What this teaches the child is that adults have no ability to reason and lack common sense.
Mark Methlie
1:39 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Why are even discussing this. The actions of the school are totally ludicrous.
Stephen Eickhoff
1:51 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Because the school obviously doesn't think so, or they would have rescinded the disciplinary action, then immediately suspended the policy until it could be reviewed at the next board meeting. The hundreds of other school districts with similar "zero tolerance" policies have also remained silent. Evil must be condemned, humiliated, and defeated.
Ann Knipfer
2:39 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Clearly, we have a bunch of idiots in our school system. Shame!
andthatsthetruth
8:23 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Years ago, going to day camp they taught you archery & riflery. From how to respect & how to shoot at targets. You got certificates& pins from NRA. I don't know about the real thing being in my home, we do have some nerf guns & air soft guns like most other homes. I was able to pass on respect and proper procedure of weapons. Still feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing. With the younger kids its popular & a way of life. The things to play with.
As discussed, it is still not normal to go out & cause a massacre. Mental illness primarily will make someone take their own life first. They say that it is the notoriety of the crime that the individual wants their name in history. How would they ever know? Getting in trouble at school for what you have an interest in and not physically bringing it on school property is none of their business. It's a wonder the police didn't come with a search warrant after the episode or did they? Out of control.
CorSolider
8:44 pm on Tuesday, February 19, 2013
@Squidward, Great name, ppft ! now to what you were saying about me dismissing games. Let me stop you right there. I'm a 90's gamer kid, in the time of gaming when there wasn't ESRB. I'm NOT desensitized by games, played with & without 'violence', but see, I was in a schooling system & have parents who taught me the difference of what is real & what is fake. The current generations, have no idea right & wrong, real or fake, I was raised with educational tv, as well as parents & family & school who taught us things like this, now a days, schools don't do this, waste of time is what I think it is to them. When I first played me 1st MMO (Massive Multiplier Online Game) was 16, & I actually didn't know if I wanted to fight the fauna in the game, felt BAD to kill animals & monsters because I saw it as ME starting the fight on things that didn't attack me, I know the difference. Now we need to teach kids the difference. I grew up with LOADs of platforms in my family ( a cousin had the most): NES/SNES/Sega/N64/PS1/PS2/Gameboy/PC + more! Growing up, Duke Nukem & Leisure Suit Larry was BIG, that game taught you to be a sleaze bag! So you'll go & tell me, this game started rapists & perverts learning to be this way? Give me a break. Late 20's & mid 40s are the early generations of gamers & we had NO rating system. We lack common sense now days, kids have NO concept, learning tv shows can teach only so much, rest is the kids being taught in and out of school!