jokemaster Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Surprise high-school senior Kim Peters carries an Olympic identification badge and an Arizona skeet-shooting members' card, but neither got her out of a four-day suspension for bringing shotgun shells onto school grounds. The 17-year-old started competitive clay shooting her freshman year at the urging of her mom and stepfather. She has since won several trophies in the male-dominated sport and in August was one of 18 athletes across the nation to attend this year's Junior Olympic shooting camp in Colorado Springs, Colo. But the hobby got Peters into trouble last week. Willow Canyon High School administrators disciplined Peters after a security guard noticed two unopened boxes of the shells sitting in the back seat of the student's white sport utility vehicle. There was no gun. Peters said her 12-hours-a-week practice schedule got so hectic that she forgot to unload the ammunition from her vehicle as she was running late for school Tuesday morning. To beat the bell, she said she took a shortcut and parked in a visitors-only lot closest to the school. The guard spotted the shells while ticketing her for parking in the non-student area. Now, Peters fears the resulting punishment will cloud her permanent record as she applies to colleges. Her family is fighting the Dysart Unified School District to get the offense, possession of a "dangerous instrument," expunged. Administrators stand by their decision and rejected the family's first appeal last week. "We can never comment on a specific situation with a student (due to privacy laws), but what I can say is that whenever we are dealing with any infraction . . . our duties involve keeping students in a safe and secure environment," Dysart Superintendent Gail Pletnick said. Peters called her own actions "careless" but said she doesn't feel the punishment fits the crime. "They searched me and they searched my car," she said. Searchers discovered that Peters had cigarettes in the car, an offense also punishable by suspension. Though Peters technically violated three school rules, she was punished only for the shells, according to a Dysart disciplinary-incident form sent home with Peters. Arguing that Peters proved she regularly uses the shells for sport, her father, Tony, asked administrators to swap the ammunition offense for the cigarette offense. Tony said he felt anyone requesting his daughter's behavior records might be more sympathetic to a "tobacco" violation vs. a "dangerous instrument" violation. He said he feels the latter unfairly implies that his daughter brought a gun or bomb into the school building. When officials refused to make the swap, Tony accused the district of overreacting and trying to make an inappropriate example out of his daughter. The Peterses also cite a 2007 federal education statute that explicitly excludes shotguns and shotgun shells from being categorized as a destructive device because they are primarily used for sport. Despite the statute, districts are free to take disciplinary actions where they see fit, according to the Arizona Department of Education. Pletnick said that school shootings at Columbine High School and Virginia Tech have forced school districts everywhere to re-evaluate and tighten their safety standards. Peters said she is still trying to drum up support for her position and has started by contacting some of her target-shooting mentors. Zach Snow, a promotions coordinator with the National Shooting Sports Foundation, said other athletes have reported similar complaints in the past, prompting professional shooters and the National Rifle Association to come to their defense. He said the most notable case was when a group of students was sent home for wearing foundation T-shirts, which pictured a silhouette of a shooter holding a rifle. But Snow said to his knowledge, Peters' situation is the first of its kind. She is scheduled to return to school Tuesday. Ridicilous? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kido14 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 No, not ridiculous, but I would agree that the punishment doesn't really fit the crime. Last.fm: http://www.last.fm/user/Aaronm14/MY FAVORITE BAND:http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fu ... d=64310717And the bible is the big book of lies, call me a racist if you must. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
llamster Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Why did she have cigarettes in her car? Ah, this reminds me about the noob on the Runescape forums who was upset with the quest "Cold War" because apparently his grandparents died in the war. :wall: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nom Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Shotgun. . . shells. There's a reason you separate the firearm and the ammunition when transporting them. Safety. One can't hurt anyone without the other. Way too overreactive, especially considering the circumstances. I agree with them trying to change the charges to the tobacco possession. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomai Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Shotgun shells aren't dangerous instruments... Put any small object in a gun and it will kill somebody. The small object on its own is harmless. Absolutely ridiculous if you ask me. Why did she have cigarettes in her car? I'm gonna take a wild guess here... She smokes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatShmook Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Shotgun shells alone can't hurt anybody severely. You can use corn seeds in a BB gun, I've tried it. Any small ammunition can hurt when fired, but as long as she didn't have the gun. As someone said earlier, the punishment isn't suited for the crime. .::Congratulations!::.I just advanced a spamming level! Now I need to find a decent Signature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biabf Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Why did she have cigarettes in her car?... to smoke? Yeah the description of the offense doesn't fit the crime... She didn't bring a dangerous instrument isn't school. She could hardly hurt someone without the shotgun itself... Put any small object in a gun and it will kill somebodyNo it wont... You would need gunpowder or it's useless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InkofDeath Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Punishment is too severe, and as the father said, implies the wrong opinion of the person, and what they actually did. However, there should still be some kind of punishment, who knows exactly how those ammunition shells could have been stolen, or used in any other affair. Though in my opinion a week suspension is more then enough for this incident. Though the other two offenses should add onto this infraction. I hate it when School Districts generalize everything because some worse incident happened somewhere else, with the same kind of weapon category. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dark_blob Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 The officials are definitely overreacting. They searched her car and she didn't have a gun; it's kinda of self explanatory that the shells can't hurt anyone without a gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nom Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 For all you guys saying that you can put anything in a gun and fire it, you clearly don't know how a gun works. We're not talking about an air rifle here. You can't put a push-pop in a shotgun and expect it to fire. The bullet contains the gunpowder, spark plug, the whole package to actually make the thing shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amoeba_009 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Given the circumstances, in my eyes its idiotic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmcf121 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 For all you guys saying that you can put anything in a gun and fire it, you clearly don't know how a gun works. We're not talking about an air rifle here. You can't put a push-pop in a shotgun and expect it to fire. The bullet contains the gunpowder, spark plug, the whole package to actually make the thing shoot. lol that would be an interesting shotgun. :-k i don't see what's the big deal here, they were in her car which was presumably locked(if it wasn't, i missed that somewhere), it's not like she brought them into class with her. at my highschool, several of my friends, myself included, would bring high powered rifles in thier cars, and proceed to go deer hunting after school. nobody ever got in trouble for that. i've also personally brought shotgun shells to school and even on an airplane(on accident of course). no disciplinary action was taken in either case(i don't think anyone noticed though). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam_ross0 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 She had a Sket Shooting license, for one. Getting that license is a sign of knowledge of how to safely use and handle a firearm, and having the utmost responsibility doing so. As for the Shells, there were 2 unopened boxes in the back of her car. She clearly said that she had a busy schedule with the Clay shooting...and I don't doubt that. It's a time-consuming activity. Besides, the Shells were locked away in her car, and there was no Shotgun around, let alone *A* gun, to fire the shells. I say they overreacted to the ammunition. As for smoking, do what they will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zonorhc Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 One can never be too prepared for a zombie apocalypse. Varrock Library: Shattered Sky | Silent Thunder | The Emperor's FinestAstri @ MythWeavers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
venomai Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 No it wont... You would need gunpowder or it's useless. Sorry, any small object with gun powder. I guess that does change the situation quite a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cobradudes20 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Its a overreaction BUT shot gun shells can make a big bomb if you have enough...can you say frag grenade? Siggy and avatar by 4be2jue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barihawk Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 She had a Sket Shooting license, for one. Getting that license is a sign of knowledge of how to safely use and handle a firearm, and having the utmost responsibility doing so. As for the Shells, there were 2 unopened boxes in the back of her car. She clearly said that she had a busy schedule with the Clay shooting...and I don't doubt that. It's a time-consuming activity. Besides, the Shells were locked away in her car, and there was no Shotgun around, let alone *A* gun, to fire the shells. I say they overreacted to the ammunition. As for smoking, do what they will. Skeet shooting liscenses (which you dont even NEED to have in most states) are so easy to get. Most 8 year olds pass the test. My heart is broken by the terrible loss I have sustained in my old friends and companions and my poor soldiers. Believe me, nothing except a battle lost can be half so melancholy as a battle won. -Sir Arthur Wellesley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yaff2 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 She had a Sket Shooting license, for one. Getting that license is a sign of knowledge of how to safely use and handle a firearm, and having the utmost responsibility doing so. As for the Shells, there were 2 unopened boxes in the back of her car. She clearly said that she had a busy schedule with the Clay shooting...and I don't doubt that. It's a time-consuming activity. Besides, the Shells were locked away in her car, and there was no Shotgun around, let alone *A* gun, to fire the shells. I say they overreacted to the ammunition. As for smoking, do what they will. +1! the school is justified in doing this. but I would agree that the punishment doesn't really fit the crime. She didnt actually do anything wrong in HER eyes, but as far as the school knew, she was plannin murder, or some type of weapon. So, yes, its bull, but there isnt anything you can do. 1980 Berlinetta with a 350, bored, mild cam, intake carb, headers, exhaust Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death45 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 If she had a gun i'd say the punishment fits. but if its only ammunition then the punishment doesn't fit. the worse you can do to someone with a bullet and you don't have a gun is throw the bullet at them and bruise them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
knives669 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Though I'm sure she had no intention of harming anyone, she brought bullets to school in a time in which school shootings seem to be common. It's like yelling "bomb" on a plane. :P It's unfortunate. But, she should have known that if she got caught, she could have faced some consequences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nadril Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Sadly they don't know if she didn't have a gun somewhere else or not. It sucks but well, to be honest, I don't exactly blame the school either. Its shown time and time again when you don't actually take action the worst always seems to happen. Still a suspension isn't that large of a deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Powman3 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Shotgun. . . shells. There's a reason you separate the firearm and the ammunition when transporting them. Safety. One can't hurt anyone without the other. Way too overreactive, especially considering the circumstances. I agree with them trying to change the charges to the tobacco possession. Exactly. Plus they can't prove if she was going to shoot somebody. She didn't even have a gun! What's she going to do, throw shotgun shells at 60 MPH and hope they explode? Though she shouldn't be smoking, they need to punish her for that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktmcf121 Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Sadly they don't know if she didn't have a gun somewhere else or not. It sucks but well, to be honest, I don't exactly blame the school either. Its shown time and time again when you don't actually take action the worst always seems to happen. Still a suspension isn't that large of a deal. the suspension isn't what they're worried about. it's the 'dangerous weapon' on her behavior record. when she goes to get a job and they see she was suspended from school for bringing a dangerous weapon they're going to think twice about hiring her. that's why she is trying to get it changed to a tobacco violation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forsaken Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 Classic case of trying to set an example. Definitely a silly punishment, in light of her circumstances. . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doomy Posted October 31, 2007 Share Posted October 31, 2007 I know a few people who would be pretty screwed if this happened to them, especially when they found all the knives in their bags :) (From hunting) Doomy edit: I like sheep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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