Gun falls out of Florida kindergartner's backpack in class
Source: Associated Press
Updated 3:51 pm, Thursday, March 8, 2018
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) A loaded handgun fell out of a kindergartner's backpack in a Florida charter school classroom, but it didn't fire and it is unclear how it got there.
Palm Beach County Sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said the 6-year-old child's teacher at Somerset Academy Lakes Elementary School immediately picked up the gun after it fell Thursday morning and escorted the children out of the classroom. She said no students were endangered at the West Palm Beach School.
Principal Clint Duvo said in a statement the child didn't know how the gun got into the backpack and had no intention of bringing it to school.
. . .
The school opened in 2016. Somerset Academy is a large charter school company with sites throughout Florida.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/education/article/Teacher-finds-gun-in-Florida-kindergartner-s-12738571.php
bettyellen
(47,209 posts)lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)She would've gotten an AR-15 but they didn't have one with sparkly unicorns.
Ligyron
(7,629 posts)Never know when you might get pushed by a bully or sumpin.
Fred Sanders
(23,946 posts)This was also no accident, this is what is preventable in American by simple gun regulation.
geretogo
(1,281 posts)be armed .
rpannier
(24,329 posts)aggiesal
(8,914 posts)Somerset Academy Lakes Elementary School filed for bankruptcy this afternoon as
students dis-enrolled from the school.
News at 11
dembotoz
(16,802 posts)aggiesal
(8,914 posts)maxsolomon
(33,327 posts)A MALE parent or sibling or uncle or cousin hurredly stashed it there for a reason, forgot, went to bed, & didn't get up before the child left for school.
Alternately, the child found it somewhere it was unsecured by a negligent MALE parent or sibling or uncle or cousin.
It won't be hard to figure out who that MALE is.
Arrest them, charge them with a felony, convict them, and take away their guns and right to possess weapons in the future.
ManiacJoe
(10,136 posts)IronLionZion
(45,433 posts)Nash Teeth
(57 posts)[sarcasm thingy]
maxsolomon
(33,327 posts)firearm negligence is almost entirely a male problem.
as are rampage shootings.
maxsolomon
(33,327 posts)I'm responding to the "it's unknown how the gun got in the backpack" part of the story. Look for a male fuckup that had access. It's going to be a man.
So many of these "kids with guns" stories where the kid winds up dead or shooting another kid, the cops don't arrest the negligent adult. "They've suffered enough". Bullshit. They need to lose their right to own firearms for their negligent behavior. Permanently.
Throw them out of the Militia.
beachbum bob
(10,437 posts)pnwmom
(108,977 posts)sinkingfeeling
(51,448 posts)YOHABLO
(7,358 posts)FSogol
(45,481 posts)maxsolomon
(33,327 posts)for these sorts of issues.
Sancho
(9,067 posts)my wife found a gun and cocaine in the backpack of a 2nd grader one time (in FL). One of my principals took a gun away from an irate parent who was on his way down the hall to confront a teacher (in SC).
Schools don't actually publish incidents unless they happen to show up in the news. Of course, schools are super sensitive now so reports of weapons are taken pretty seriously - kids are suspended if they accidentally have a toy gun in their car when they drive to school. Here in Florida, other than suspensions, there's usually no consequence. Sometimes they charge a parent with endangerment, but so what? The state will rarely or never place the kid elsewhere (that's $s). A judge will warn the parent to keep the gun away from he kids. Many of those families already have issues, and there is no mental health or social worker available for the most part.
What's worse are multiple reports that a kid is emotional, threatening, or acting out won't result in any action - and many of those kids have easy access to guns.
People Control, Not Gun Control
This is my generic response to gun threads where people are shot and killed by the dumb or criminal possession of guns. For the record, I grew up in the South and on military bases. I was taught about firearms as a child, and I grew up hunting, was a member of the NRA, and I still own guns. In the 70s, I dropped out of the NRA because they become more radical and less interested in safety and training. Some personal experiences where people I know were involved in shootings caused me to realize that anyone could obtain and posses a gun no matter how illogical it was for them to have a gun. Also, easy access to more powerful guns, guns in the hands of children, and guns that werent secured are out of control in our society. As such, heres what I now think ought to be the requirements to possess a gun. Im not debating the legal language, I just think its the reasonable way to stop the shootings. Notice, none of this restricts the type of guns sold. This is aimed at the people who shoot others, because its clear that they should never have had a gun.
1.) Anyone in possession of a gun (whether they own it or not) should have a regularly renewed license. If you want to call it a permit, certificate, or something else that's fine.
2.) To get a license, you should have a background check, and be examined by a professional for emotional and mental stability appropriate for gun possession. It might be appropriate to require that examination to be accompanied by references from family, friends, employers, etc. This check is not to subject you to a mental health diagnosis, just check on your superficial and apparent gun-worthyness.
3.) To get the license, you should be required to take a safety course and pass a test appropriate to the type of gun you want to use.
4.) To get a license, you should be over 21. Under 21, you could only use a gun under direct supervision of a licensed person and after obtaining a learners license. Your license might be restricted if you have children or criminals or other unsafe people living in your home. (If you want to argue 18 or 25 or some other age, fine. 21 makes sense to me.)
5.) If you possess a gun, you would have to carry a liability insurance policy specifically for gun ownership - and likely you would have to provide proof of appropriate storage, security, and whatever statistical reasons that emerge that would drive the costs and ability to get insurance.
6.) You could not purchase a gun or ammunition without a license, and purchases would have a waiting period.
7.) If you possess a gun without a license, you go to jail, the gun is impounded, and a judge will have to let you go (just like a DUI).
8.) No one should carry an unsecured gun (except in a locked case, unloaded) when outside of home. Guns should be secure when transporting to a shooting event without demonstrating a special need. Their license should indicate training and special carry circumstances beyond recreational shooting (security guard, etc.). If you are carrying your gun while under the influence of drugs or alcohol, you lose your gun and license.
9.) If you buy, sell, give away, or inherit a gun, your license information should be recorded.
10.) If you accidentally discharge your gun, commit a crime, get referred by a mental health professional, are served a restraining order, etc., you should lose your license and guns until reinstated by a serious relicensing process.
Most of you know that a license is no big deal. Besides a drivers license you need a license to fish, operate a boat, or many other activities. I realize these differ by state, but that is not a reason to let anyone without a bit of sense pack a semiautomatic weapon in public, on the roads, and in schools. I think we need to make it much harder for some people to have guns.
For those who want to argue legality, please reference: The Second Amendment: A Biography by Michael Waldman