Attention after gun charge garners scholarship offers for teen

[OmahaBlueDog]

Source: WRAL

Princeton, N.C. — A Princeton High School senior and honors student who says he inadvertently brought two unloaded shotguns onto school property will be allowed to graduate, an attorney for Johnston County Schools said Thursday.

David Cole Withrow, 18, was arrested Monday on a felony charge of bringing a weapon onto educational property, after he realized he left the guns in his car after skeet shooting over the weekend.

Kim Boykin, a family friend speaking on behalf of Withrow's family, said he tried to get permission from school administrators to take home the weapon but instead, was arrested and expelled.

But Jimmy Lawrence, an attorney for the Johnston County Schools Board of Education, said in a statement Thursday afternoon that Withrow has not been expelled and that the school system superintendent "has made provisions" that will allow him to continue his education and to receive his high school diploma if he meets graduation requirements.



Read more: http://www.wral.com/attention-after-gun-charge-garners-scholarship-offers-for-teen/12404125/

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This story is going viral on Facebook, and is getting a lot of traction in wingnut land. That having been said, it's a sad story and I hope something can be worked out.

Long story very short: straight-arrow, Eagle Scout who's never had legal trouble apparantly left his gun in his truck. He was freaked out about missing class, so he went to school anyway. If I understand other published reports correctly, he called his mom to come get the truck, but was overheard by school officials explaining why she needed to come get it. The school has a zero-tolerance policy, so he's expelled for a year.

On one hand, conservatives are very fond of lecturing folks on actions having consequences. And no "responsible" gun owner should ever carelessly forget where they have left a weapon. So I could make an argument that this young man is paying a fair price for a very irresponsible act. I could do that...

...but I won't. I was 18 once. I don't see bad intent here. I think it was an accident and it should be treated as such. I would even assert that a gubanatorial pardon might be a quick way to resolve this matter entirely.

Another link is here:

http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?section=news/local&id=9087003

Other links to this story abound, but they are all from decidedly consrvative websites.

[GitRDun]

1. I agree with you completely

Where has our common sense gone?

[earthside]

2. I, too, agree.

'Zero tolerance' equals zero logic, reason, common sense.

[etherealtruth]

3. As much as I hate guns

... this is just ridiculous.

"I think it was an accident and it should be treated as such."

[lakercub]

4. Interesting story

with two things that irritate me: guns and zero-tolerance policies. I can see why the gun nuts will get up-in-arms about this, but the bigger problem here to me has nothing to do with the guns as much as the school system having a zero tolerance policy. If there is no intent to do wrong, nothing went wrong, and the kid was actively trying to fix the problem on his own, school admins need the ability to take all of that into consideration and make intelligent rulings. One size fits all in matters of discipline almost never works.

[loli phabay]

7. common sense seems to be lacking.

[OmahaBlueDog]

12. This is really a zero-tolerance policy issue

The nutters are trying to make this a gun issue, but every year, you hear see horror story of a kid getting suspended/exelled over giving a classmate cold medicine, an advil, or a midol.

[another_liberal]

5. This must be a White kid.

An African-American student found with two guns in his car on school property in North Carolina would have been charged with attempted murder and terrorism, if he wasn't shot dead on the spot.

[Mr.Bill]

6. Imagine if he was Islamic. n/t

[another_liberal]

8. Do they even . . .

Do they even let Muslims attend public school there?

[OmahaBlueDog]

10. I'll admit that thought did occur to me

However, I suspect if an AA student was an Eagle Scout and an honor student, we'd be having largely the same discussion. The key difference would be that the conservatives would then be lecturing about rules and consequences and responsibility ... like they usually do.

[tarheelsunc]

9. Not too far from my hometown...

Honestly it sounds like the kid did the right thing. Everyone forgets stuff, and he took the proper actions once he realized he forgot. Obviously had he tried to hop in his truck and drive home he would have gotten in trouble and they probably still would have seen the guns.

[OmahaBlueDog]

11. In the final analysis, he should have ditched class and gone home.

If he told the school he missed his class because "he forgot to do something at home" he'd have technically told the truth, and have probably been found guilty of nothing worse than cutting a class. Worst case would most likely have been after-school detention.