Kid Finds Gun, Turns It In, Culprit Found, But Kid Gets Expelled For Having The Gun

[Koopler 0]

http://forums.xisto.com/no_longer_exists/

(CBS) PLAINFIELD, Ill. A 13-year-old Plainfield boy and his parents are stunned and outraged after the teen found a gun in school and turned it in to authorities, who then expelled him.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports Ryan Morgan's parents and supporters attended the school board meeting Wednesday evening to try to fight the expulsion. They believe the punishment, and the subsequent alternative school option, are not the proper responses to a mistake made by a teenage boy.

Ryan Morgan, 13, says he pocketed a pellet gun he and a friend found in their school's bathroom to keep people safe. Morgan's mother says a short time later Morgan gave the gun to the Troy Middle School assistant principal.

"I told him maybe that wasn't the best decision, to remove that gun, but it did lead to you finding the culprit, he was arrested and to put my son in alternative school -- he has no behavior problems," Audrey Morgan, Ryan's mother, said.

The Morgans say there was no reasoning with the principal or with the school superintendent.

"He said, 'The board can give your son full two-year expulsion, I'm asking you not to go before them,'" Audrey Morgan said.

They went anyway, saying they had nothing to lose, only to see the meeting minutes already recommend expulsion.

Roy Morgan says he can't accept that, but accepts his son's decision.

"He said 'I'm going to turn this in' and you know what, I commend my son for making that decision. It was the right decision," he said.

School board officials issued a statement Wednesday night saying due to confidentiality reasons they can't discuss the specifics of this case, but that "purposeful possession of weapons is a serious offense and deserves careful consideration by the administration and the school board."

That's pretty *BLEEP*ed up...

Notice from KuBi:

Entire article copied. Extreme lack of content on your part, and swearing is not allowed.

[brandon10092 0]

How stupid. If he hadn't been in trouble before and he was thinking in the right mind to take the gun to protect everybody else, why would they still expell him? It's not like he was in trouble numerous times before, not even once.

[runeps 0]

Those Evil people he prevented something like a school shooting from happening and they expel him seriously What the *beep* , I mean What is wrong with them he stopped something bad from happening it isn't like he put the gun there he just found it and turned it in AND THEY EXPEL HIM ,They have no right

[Dooga 0]

That's quite unfair. I'm sure they'll get help real soon, since the media and people hate these kind of incidents.

[Koopler 0]

Yeah, I agree. I think that people should get busted for breaking the rules, but I also agree that there's exceptions where you have to break the rules in order to do something good. The kid in the article has done one of these exceptions, and through that he might have potentially saved someones life. So I think that this incident should be settled in court because the kid really shouldn't be expelled for this. BTW, I don't appreciate the warning. By posting this article I'm submitting content to these forums, even if I don't summarize the entire article. Getting warned for doing something good is almost as ridiculous as this kid getting expelled for turning in a gun.

[Yacoby 0]

Thats crazy, its like the principal or whoever is in charge is following the rules to letter and not bending them when they should be bent. The end justified the means seems to hold true in this case, he had to be in possession of the gun to hand it in.I doubt he will remain expelled, as the media have picked it up, so it is getting a large amount of publicity.

[Kubi 0]

@Koopler, when you signed up on Xisto you agree'd to follow the TOS. Copying an entire article from another website, and having the only comment of your own being "That's pretty F'D Up", is against the TOS. The rules for this forum clearly state that "THIS FORUM IS NOT FOR COPYING AND PASTING ENTIRE ARTICLES", which is exactaly what you did. Therefore the warning stands. If you wish to fight this please continue it in PM's.

[Plenoptic 0]

Copying an article is also considered plagiarizing, which isn't allowed anywhere. As for the article, double thumbs up to the kid that turned the gun in. He did the right thing. If he went to get an authority figure, the gun could have been gone by the time he came back. If he waited by the gun while his friend went to get an authority, the kid could have come looking for the gun and fought the kid for it or even worse, shot him. It's really stupid to expel a kid for doing something good for the school. If they are going to be like that I'd leave the school anyway.

[Watermonkey 0]

Koopler, I'd drop it if I were you. According to the rules, they can BAN you for copying/pasting an article. There's another infraction elsewhere very nearby they haven't noticed yet...All I have to add to this topic is "Zero tolernace policy" is equivelant to "Zero independant thought policy". They're teaching today's kids (and adults) from nearly every front from school rules to video games to your favorite TV show on Fox, and of course I'm referring to "24". We're to be good worker bees and we're never to question the state, even if the state is wrong. There'll be consequences for doing a good deed if it means you break a "zero tolerance" rule to do that deed. I bet others can think of good examples too. One other one that comes to mind is the "zero tolerance zone" or "gun free zone" that some communities draw around school properties that declare a gun to be illegal if it comes within x number of feet from the school. If you're legally carrying concelled and happen to drive by, even without stopping, you may unknowingly break a law that could, if you were convicted, cause you to loose your "right" to keep and bear arms. The odds of getting caught are very low, but innocent people are victemized by nonsensical laws like this creating a whole new class of "criminals" in this country.

[street 0]

wow i really think that is messed up buy finding the gun he just saved another Columbian incident and he gets expelled for it i find that does not make no sense at all he does the right thing and gets in trouble for it. He doesn't even get a a big thank you from the school but instead they expel him i don't see anything this boy did wrong except saving all his classmates life.

[master_bacarra 0]

there is something wrong on both sides. on the kid's side, well what he did has a flaw. first he's not allowed to pick up the gun and put it in his pocket, thus making the authorities suspicious of him. he should have stayed a bit farther from the weapon , and just shouted for help. in that way he would at least be cleared of the suspicions. moreover, it could be proved later that he didn't bring that anyway.on the administration's side (meaning the school's authorities' side), expulsion isn't really the best solution for the issue. although the action the kid has done would indeed cause a great alarm, the approach they did wasn't fair enough even for the kid. they could have discussed the matter privately before handing down a decision. by expelling the kid, the issue wouldn't make it any easier for him to transfer to another school.

[icemarle 0]

That's the worst thing I've heard all day. How could they do that to an honest student? So if the kid didn't turn the gun in the first place, he would've been better off? I can't believe how unfair they're becoming nowadays... They found the culprit, so what's the problem? Is handling a pellet gun now a good reason to expel someone even if that someone just happened to find it? I'd understand if the kid actually USED it, but he didn't. They really ought to do something about it. It's way too much...School meets gun... school freaks out and makes rash decisions... They're thinking about it too much... it's just a pellet gun and the kid didn't USE it.

[Yratorm, LightMage 0]

All I have to add to this topic is "Zero tolernace policy" is equivelant to "Zero independant thought policy". They're teaching today's kids (and adults) from nearly every front from school rules to video games to your favorite TV show on Fox, and of course I'm referring to "24". We're to be good worker bees and we're never to question the state, even if the state is wrong. There'll be consequences for doing a good deed if it means you break a "zero tolerance" rule to do that deed. I bet others can think of good examples too. One other one that comes to mind is the "zero tolerance zone" or "gun free zone" that some communities draw around school properties that declare a gun to be illegal if it comes within x number of feet from the school. If you're legally carrying concelled and happen to drive by, even without stopping, you may unknowingly break a law that could, if you were convicted, cause you to loose your "right" to keep and bear arms. The odds of getting caught are very low, but innocent people are victemized by nonsensical laws like this creating a whole new class of "criminals" in this country.

 

Hmm, I find both this post by watermonkey and the original article fascinating. It all comes down to the difference between the spirit of the law and the letter of the law. The letter of the law might say a person is a criminal, but if that person has acted in the best interests of everyone, then that should be respected, or the law itself loses credibility and 'moral force' if you know what I mean.

 

And I agree with watermonkey "people are victimized by nonsensical laws like this creating a whole new class of "criminals" in this country" - victimized being the exact word to use.

 

It all depends on EXACTLY what the boy did - did he go STRAIGHT to the assistant principle? In which case, he was morally in the right, and the school authorities are CERTAINLY victimizing him. However, if he walked around with the gun for some time, then he's certainly damaged his case, as school authorities might feel that he intended to KEEP the gun, and then later had second thoughts and turned it in. I'm NOT saying this is what he did/intended/etc. but it's possible this is the opinion of his actions held by the school authorities.

 

Alternatively, school shootings have probably so scared authorities that they are acting out of simple panic, targeting anyone even slightly in the 'wrong' because they are so afraid of an incident happening at their school. Human nature at work, as usual Why is a victim of human nature so often innocent?

 

----------------------------------------------

A note to watermonkey:

We're to be good worker bees and we're never to question the state, even if the state is wrong.

 

If this is the way things have become in the west, I agree that it's a serious limitation on simple human freedoms. I hate the thought of people not being given the leeway to think and act for themselves. I must say that if this is really the way things are in the west, then I really prefer the east, watermonkey - here the law generally doesn't bother with you until and unless you go out of your way to bother someone else. I think it's a good system. Keep to yourself, go about your business, and you won't find anyone arresting you over a 'rule from the book' so to speak. They come down on you like a hammer if you're actually committing (or have committed) an actual crime, and that's how I think it should be. Not saying it's a perfect system, but it's one that I personally prefer.
Edited January 22, 2007 by Yratorm, LightMage (see edit history)

[zak92 0]

Wow not at all fair on the child. This is how the world is going now i guess. You do something good and you get *BLEEP*ed for it. Man my parents cannot believe after reading this that *BLEEP* like this happens. Its hard to believe this. WOW. Im messed.

[Unregistered 012 0]

Well, at least he did the right thing. I dont know what i would of done. I would of probably just left the gun there and not moved it, then went to the office and tell them that their is a gun in the bathroom. I dont think that he should of been expelled though, its not fair. He was only looking out for the safety of other students in the school. You have to think outside the box on this kind of situation though. Why would anyone in their right mind bring a gun to school, and then go to the office and tell them? He was only bringing the gun for the safety and benefit of other students. All i can say is that i am surprised, and ashamed at the faculty and staff at that school. All i could say to the student is good job. He did the right thing.