Toy gun leads to Florida boy's expulsion from school for a year

[n2doc]

Miramar, Florida (CNN) -- It's quite clear. No guns may be brought to school. Period. It's the law.

So, when Samuel Burgos brought a gun to school last November in Broward County, Florida, the zero tolerance policy kicked in, and Samuel was suspended and then expelled.

A just punishment? Did he deserve it?

Well, here's more. The gun wasn't real. It was a toy gun that never left his book bag. And Samuel -- he was 7 years old at the time.

A just punishment? Did he deserve it?

more

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/10/06/toy.gun.expelled/index.html?hpt=T2

[slackmaster]

1. Zero tolerance = Zero intelligence

The punishment does not fit the "crime".

[HuckleB]

5. +1

[proteus_lives]

12. +2

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

2. The punishist urge to crush the weaker and make their lives miserable strikes again. -nt

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

3. Good, it sets a public display/example...

that the school district, like 99% of the nation's other districts, is fucking retarded.

[Posteritatis]

4. Ahh, zero-thought policies

I can't wait for people to jump into this thread defending his expulsion because he was "disruptive" or some other vague carte blanche stupidity.

[rhett o rick]

6. It doesnt take high priced administrators to enforce a no tolerance policy.

No tolerance means the administrators take no responsibility and ruin lives. Assholes.

[aikoaiko]

7. Toy guns are not guns.

[Hepburn]

8. Exactly...

...it is not a gun. PERIOD.

[HuckleB]

9. Yup.

[derby378]

10. Bingo

Political correctness rears its ugly head again.

[applegrove]

11. His only other choice than staying home was to go to a school for

bad kids...and this at 7 years old. No chance I would send my kid to such a place.

[Odin2005]

13. This is fucking pathetic. Zero Tolerance = Zero Brains.

IT IS A FUCKING GODDAMN TOY.

Then again, I have run into Nanny-State idiots that think all toy guns should be banned. :eyes:

[Brickbat]

14. Charter school.

Kid must be pulling the ranking down, or something.

[Posteritatis]

15. Happens constantly at public schools, too. (nt)

[Swamp Rat]

16. I brought a Remington pump to class for show and tell when I was 7

And a pistol when I was 8. Times sure were different back then. :D

[marions ghost]

17. expulsion is unreasonable, however...

the gun did fire plastic beads, and therefore was not harmless. (According to the story). I'm sure the school had a rule in place. A fairly severe shorter term punishment would have been better.

With all the weapons that ARE turning up in schools, you can't blame people for over-reacting. I bet it has made a big impression on the students about what zero tolerance means.

It's so ironic that a nation armed to the teeth with guns would do this. The hypocrisy is interesting.

Protect the children from plastic beads but not real bullets...

This is a crazy place.

[Posteritatis]

19. I certainly can blame people for overreacting if they're doing so to this extent. (nt)

[Abq_Sarah]

18. These zero tolerance policies are insane

A kid who decides to go out in a blaze of glory by shooting his classmates isn't going to be deterred by a one year suspension. They're going to sneak a real gun into school, policy be damned.