Where would you store a child's bb gun?

[MercyA]

My husband and I usually agree on most issues, but he has a different take on this topic. He maintains that because no laws were being broken--even if they *were* "real" guns--it should not have been reported. Thoughts?

[Ausmumof3]

9 minutes ago, MercyA said:

My husband and I usually agree on most issues, but he has a different take on this topic. He maintains that because no laws were being broken--even if they *were* "real" guns--it should not have been reported. Thoughts?

I think child related safety things have to be reported if you are a mandated reporter whether there are laws broken or not?  Although it might be different here.  For example a kid with significant bruising - no one knows if laws were broken or the kid fell off their bike every week but you still have to report?

[Tanaqui]

It's never too young to teach your kids that gun safety means that the gun is stored in ONE locked safe and the bullets in another, separate safe.

It doesn't matter how much you trust your kids, or your spouse, or every guest to ever visit your home. You still might get burgled, you still might get robbed.

[Loowit]

I don't see how it is reportable, unless laws are being broken.  Even if the teacher doesn't consider it safe, there is not much, if anything law enforcement can do about other than talk about gun safety.  I think if the school is worried about kids be traumatized by the sight of guns then then need to create a policy about what household items in the home are allowed to be seen in their virtual school calls.

My kids don't have BB guns, because we have never had a great place for them to target shoot.  We do have sling shots, swords, and knives that are not locked up.  My DS17 has a compound bow that he keeps in his room, but he and DH are the only ones strong enough to draw it back.  We have a gun safe for our firearms and DH and I are the only ones who know the combo.

While my kids may not have BB guns, they have plenty of nerf guns on display.  And my middle son has a very impressive halo figure display in his room that has plenty of toy guns and other weapony type things.  Those are things not allowed at school, but should they then be banned from view when they are in a persons private home.  Maybe the schools should hand out screens for the students to use so that there isn't anything distracting in the background.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I think child related safety things have to be reported if you are a mandated reporter whether there are laws broken or not?  Although it might be different here.  For example a kid with significant bruising - no one knows if laws were broken or the kid fell off their bike every week but you still have to report?

I know this is the case in the states I've taught in. There are certain things that are required to be reported. Weapons are reported to the principal, usually using a code so that you don't panic the kids-because the principal can close the door and call the police, and you, as a teacher, cannot. Drugs have a similar code. It doesn't mean the police won't talk to the teacher directly-but if a 11 yr old has a gun in his backpack (as happened to me the first year I taught) it wouldn't have been good for me to have tried to manage it on my own until my lunch break almost four hours later. I needed someone who knew what they were doing to manage the situation right then. 

[JustEm]

45 minutes ago, MercyA said:

My husband and I usually agree on most issues, but he has a different take on this topic. He maintains that because no laws were being broken--even if they *were* "real" guns--it should not have been reported. Thoughts?

It is not the job of the mandatory reporter to determine if a law is being broken or not.  It is their job to report something to the authorities that they feel could be endangering the child.  Which in this situation the teacher felt was the case.  The authorities determined nothing was wrong

[JustEm]

4 minutes ago, Bagels McGruffikin said:

Which, again, bugs me and feels like an overstep. I wish the guidelines were more clear in these type of areas, especially when they’re scrutinizing the child’s home environment. This just makes me not want to ever consent to an online class with video feed. And we take safety very seriously.

 

But in some peoples' opinion a kid keeping bb guns and airsoft guns in their bedroom is unsafe.  So, if one of those people is a mandatory report they need to report it because to them that is an unsafe environment.  Then the authorities can properly decide if there is merit to the concern

[JustEm]

8 minutes ago, Bagels McGruffikin said:

Yeah, and as a parent I don’t want some rando’s judgment of my parenting creating an investigation when there isn’t a clear standard applied beyond whatever the heck they deem safe or unsafe. In a zoom situation that is intrusive, at the very least, given that the investigation it springs can pester a family and cause them distress or even legal drama without an actual law ever being broken.

This needs way more training or way more clarity. Someone else’s comfort level shouldn’t be the deciding factor in what could be a significant investigation. That isn’t enough cause and you won’t convince me otherwise. I’m in favor of mandated reporting, but this particular area, especially over a video call and in lieu of any other provocation, should not have caused this chain of events. And because the teacher was following the guidelines, it is the muddiness of those guidelines I take issue with. 

 

If they were real guns in the background how would you feel?  Because many people wouldn't be able to determine over a Zoom meeting if they were real or not.

 

[Shellydon]

At my kid's current ages, if we had a BB gun, it would be in his/her room.   ( Ages 11 up) If I had younger kids, it would be somewhere else.  All of my kids are nationally competitive in shooting sports, so we skip silly BB guns. 

[Carrie12345]

7 hours ago, Bagels McGruffikin said:

Yeah, and as a parent I don’t want some rando’s judgment of my parenting creating an investigation when there isn’t a clear standard applied beyond whatever the heck they deem safe or unsafe. In a zoom situation that is intrusive, at the very least, given that the investigation it springs can pester a family and cause them distress or even legal drama without an actual law ever being broken.

This needs way more training or way more clarity. Someone else’s comfort level shouldn’t be the deciding factor in what could be a significant investigation. That isn’t enough cause and you won’t convince me otherwise. I’m in favor of mandated reporting, but this particular area, especially over a video call and in lieu of any other provocation, should not have caused this chain of events. And because the teacher was following the guidelines, it is the muddiness of those guidelines I take issue with. 

It’s not that I don’t have issues with mandated reporting rules (I do, and I am a mandated reporter now), but any adaptations would carry the risk of some situations getting overlooked.  I don’t really know how they could be adapt specifically to our current virtual world.

In my training, in my state at least, I don’t have to be in front of a child, physically or virtually, to be required to report.  If Johnny were to tell Timmy about how he keeps guns in his room (because kids can be dumb/naive/making things sound worse, wanting to be cool), and Timmy Tells his mom Janice, who tells me over coffee that she’s concerned about Johnny’s safety with guns in his room, I have to report it even though I didn’t see it or hear about it directly.  If nothing else, seeing it on Zoom would be an even more direct indicator.
Teachers (again, in my state) aren’t just required to report on their own students or even all students in their school. They’re supposed to report anything, anywhere, in any setting.

[chiguirre]

19 hours ago, kdsuomi said:

 

It's allowing both. From this, the district that tried to make parents sign a form saying they wouldn't "eavesdrop" on their kids' classes, and others things that have been coming out about virtual school, there is a lot of overreach going on that people should be concerned about.

I had to sign that sort of statement. It's because ds is in a self-contained special ed class and parents cannot violate the privacy of the other students.

I'm a super private person, and I *hate* the forced intimacy that online schooling with mandatory web cameras is creating.  There's nothing illegal going on in my bedroom, but I sure don't want to share images from my bedroom with arbitrary people.  But that's what a lot of schools are forcing kids to do.

[JustEm]

7 minutes ago, GGardner said:

I'm a super private person, and I *hate* the forced intimacy that online schooling with mandatory web cameras is creating.  There's nothing illegal going on in my bedroom, but I sure don't want to share images from my bedroom with arbitrary people.  But that's what a lot of schools are forcing kids to do.

you can have  backgrounds with zoom meetings so showing one's bedroom or any part of there house is unnecessary.  So, are you saying that schools are not allowing kids to use backgrounds?  Plus, one can easily set up a background that shows nothing of the room they are in.  Dh has a white board behind him when he's in webcam meetings.  That is the only thing people can see behind them on camera.  It took him a whole minute to set up.  But if someone doesn't have a white board they could drape a sheet on the wall behind them.

[City Mouse]

I think it depends on the child and the family. We have extended family that have had to keep kitchen knives in a lock box due to a child’s mental illness. That family would never have had guns of any kind in the house. I don’t  think they even allowed water guns for a long time.

My DS18 got a BB gun when he was 12 or 13. I think he used it maybe 5 times ever. It stayed in his closet. Just a few weeks ago, we cleaned out his room and decided to donate the BB gun and the almost full container of BBs that came with it all those years ago.

On the otherhand, when working for an online charter school, we received training in reporting potential child abuse from on camera or phone interactions. In this case I would not have called the police. I would have turned off the kid’s camera so  that no other students would see, and then later ask the parent to remove the offending object from view. Now, if someone had picked up the gun an appeared to threaten a family member, that would have been an immediate 911 call. 
 

Edited August 31, 2020 by City Mouse

21 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

you can have  backgrounds with zoom meetings so showing one's bedroom or any part of there house is unnecessary.  So, are you saying that schools are not allowing kids to use backgrounds?  Plus, one can easily set up a background that shows nothing of the room they are in. 

I'm not sure that the low-end chromebooks that most student are given have enough oomph to do virtual backgrounds

[Lb20inblue]

It must be nice to be able to even have the option to own BB guns.  I can't even imagine what would happen if this picture was in the background of any brown kid in america. 

[ktgrok]

We have bow with practice target shooting arrows on top of a very high bookcase. I believe the BB gun has a trigger lock, but might be broken down into pieces in the safe, I honestly don't know as DH helps DS and DD with them. Ammo was also on the very high bookcase with the bow until I while trying to dust it (standing on a stool and still couldn't see what I was doing, was using one of those long handled dusters to reach) knocked the container over and had BBs ALL OVER THE FLOOR. It is no longer kept there. 

[Lb20inblue]

1 minute ago, Bagels McGruffikin said:

Uh... there are multiple kids of different ethnicities in our local junior shooting club. It’s not uncommon. And since this already escalated with a white kid, what different escalation than investigation would you expect if you changed out the kid? 

 

I didn't say that all ethnicities don't participate in the local junior shooting club.  What I'm saying is that we just have to be extra careful about anything that can be percieved as weapons and it's relationship to our kids.  Tamar Rice was killed in less than 5 seconds because of the perception that the gun he was playing with may be real.  I can not fathom a brown kid having such a display in the background of his zoom classroom and the cops not being called, etc.  Every time police is introduced, its added layer of stress to all involved.    

 

[PeterPan]

4 minutes ago, Lb20inblue said:

having such a display in the background of his zoom classroom and the cops not being called, etc

Did you read the article??? The cops WERE called. Zero to do with race.

5 minutes ago, Lb20inblue said:

What I'm saying is that we just have to be extra careful about anything that can be percieved as weapons and it's relationship to our kids. 

Maybe you should change that and start a shooting club. One that teaches respect for the police while you're at it. You want to talk persecuted minorities, how about the likelihood of a kid with AUTISM being shot if he has an altercation with the law. I think about this a lot with my white son. Skin color is not the only reason people have problems. I have a curriculum right here beside me https://besafethemovie.com/curriculum/  I need to use with my little white boy because he's so likely to have interactions with the law at some point.

[ktgrok]

11 minutes ago, Bagels McGruffikin said:

@Ktgrok And when they roll all over they’re like LEGO levels of foot pain to step on. Yeah. Even if we didn’t store it all very carefully those suckers would stay far away just for the mess.

And if one or two get sucked up in to the bagless vacuum they rattle in there and make SUCH a racket! It was months before I wasn't finding the darned things everywhere. 

[PeterPan]

@Bagels McGruffikin it's for real. The lady behind the curriculum trains police departments on how to handle individuals with autism, how to deescalate. She is now going around the country with her curriculum, doing trainings, because we need to teach our KIDS how to interact safely with the police. If my ds has an aggressive episode and the police become involved and he waves anything resembling a weapon, they will shoot first, ask later. And his IEP and diagnoses won't matter. Skin color won't matter. 

So I think we should effect community level change by teaching our kids how to be SAFE. We have the materials available that if someone actually wanted to DO something about it and make a DIFFERENCE in their community, they could. 

https://besafethemovie.com/curriculum/  

Edited August 31, 2020 by PeterPan

[JustEm]

1 hour ago, GGardner said:

I'm not sure that the low-end chromebooks that most student are given have enough oomph to do virtual backgrounds

I have no idea but if they can't then it is beyond easy to set up a camera to show nothing in a room.  So, anyone worried about privacy issues should spend a few minutes not worrying and instead doing something to make it a moot point by setting it up so nothing is seen. 

[Lb20inblue]

10 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

Did you read the article??? The cops WERE called. Zero to do with race.

Maybe you should change that and start a shooting club. One that teaches respect for the police while you're at it. You want to talk persecuted minorities, how about the likelihood of a kid with AUTISM being shot if he has an altercation with the law. I think about this a lot with my white son. Skin color is not the only reason people have problems. I have a curriculum right here beside me https://besafethemovie.com/curriculum/  I need to use with my little white boy because he's so likely to have interactions with the law at some point.

 

I wrote something back that was not productive and realized that I'm going to try to step back and breathe through this.  

Of course I read the article, your attitude is noted and not helpful. 

With everything staying the same, I thought what would happen in this situation if the kid was brown and lived in all the different cities I have lived in here in the US.  In all cases, I just kept seeing the same outcome, cops if not SWAT team called and a family in terror.  The cops wouldn't be as understanding, especially now in this moment.  Parents probably having to deal with CPS and the impact of having to deal with law enforcement.   I didn't make make up and this isn't my anxiety speaking to me.  My six year old was having a water gun fight with a bunch of his friends in the park.  The cops came with hand on their guns and attempted to speak to my kid about a "disturbance".  Luckily, I was with the park with all the other parents and were able to defuse the situation.  What was different from my kid and the other six year olds?  We all lived in the same town, went to the same school and same income bracket.  The only difference was that my kid was brown.  

In this country we have different experiences with law enforcement and social services and the experience is determined by race and social economics.   My lens is valid and though different then yours, doesn't make it wrong. 

[Tanaqui]

39 minutes ago, PeterPan said:

@Bagels McGruffikin it's for real. The lady behind the curriculum trains police departments on how to handle individuals with autism, how to deescalate. She is now going around the country with her curriculum, doing trainings, because we need to teach our KIDS how to interact safely with the police. If my ds has an aggressive episode and the police become involved and he waves anything resembling a weapon, they will shoot first, ask later. And his IEP and diagnoses won't matter. Skin color won't matter. 

So I think we should effect community level change by teaching our kids how to be SAFE. We have the materials available that if someone actually wanted to DO something about it and make a DIFFERENCE in their community, they could. 

https://besafethemovie.com/curriculum/  

 

Or - and this might sound very strange - we could teach cops not to shoot first, ask questions later. There are autistic people in other countries. There are minorities in other countries. And yet, somehow, the cops don't all think they're empowered to shoot to kill in other countries.

[vonfirmath]

37 minutes ago, hjffkj said:

I have no idea but if they can't then it is beyond easy to set up a camera to show nothing in a room.  So, anyone worried about privacy issues should spend a few minutes not worrying and instead doing something to make it a moot point by setting it up so nothing is seen. 

Please tell me how to do it.

We've tried to set up my son's camera to show him but nothing in his room and I'm not finding it easy at all to manage.

 

[Guest]

I can’t use virtual backgrounds when teaching because they block the piano, soI’ve got my front camera set to show a pocket chart over one shoulder and a hallway in the other. I moved my digital piano because originally my DD’s pet snake was behind me, and she proved rather distracting for my students. 

[JustEm]

28 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Please tell me how to do it.

We've tried to set up my son's camera to show him but nothing in his room and I'm not finding it easy at all to manage.

 

 

Is the camera attached to the monitor or free standing?  There are a few options.  1. rearrange the computer desk so the chair is up against the wall and not the desk.  That way, the only thing behind your son is the wall.  Then you can control what is on the wall behind him.  2. Drape a sheet over the things behind him so there isn't any personal stuff shown. 3. Use something like an easel to create a screen with a sheet/large piece of cardboard/etc. that goes directly behind your son's chair so the only thing you can see in the background is that screen. With this method you can move the screen when not in use and it doesn't disrupt anything in the room.  If you don't have something that can be used as a screen you can pin a sheet to the ceiling directly behind your son.

We chose to rearrange the room so the computer chair is against the wall for the kids set up.  Dh's set up is a white board behind him in front of the incredibly messy closet without doors used to store out of season clothing.

[chiguirre]

43 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

Please tell me how to do it.

We've tried to set up my son's camera to show him but nothing in his room and I'm not finding it easy at all to manage.

 

You can turn his desk around so he's sitting in front of a wall. You'll have to take down anything hanging on the wall. If that's too much of a pain, how about buying a room divider to put around him?

[vonfirmath]

I thought there was something to do with the camera :(

Yes that is effectively what we've done. Made as plain as possible the background behind him. But I wouldn't call it easy and it takes daily maintenance to keep it that way because we don't have the space in the room to turn the desk around.

[gstharr]

When I was growing up in Los Angeles, boys got a Daisy Red Ryder bb rifle, and/or a hunting knife,  as a right of passage around 13 y.o. We played with those things on the streets, and tooks them on buses, to stores, everywhere we went. Never thought that anybody would react to them.  We were  hassled only once by the police. The officer took the bb magazine, but gave us back the rifle.  Things have changes so much since then. I got the 10th grader a pretty decent pellet rifle a few x-mas ago.  He has shown no interest in it.  But even if he wanted to shoot it, I would have to take him someplace for target practice. Our back yard is not large enough to set up targets. NO WAY would I consider ever shooting it in the front yard.  I would fear for his life, as well as mine, when the neighbors calls the  police.  But to answer the question, we keep it in a hall closet with a real solid trigger lock on it.  The key is on my keyring. We has no other guns or rifles.

[JustEm]

2 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

I thought there was something to do with the camera 😞

Yes that is effectively what we've done. Made as plain as possible the background behind him. But I wouldn't call it easy and it takes daily maintenance to keep it that way because we don't have the space in the room to turn the desk around.

 

The easiest way is to pin a sheet to the ceiling. It takes a few seconds each day to put it up and take it down.  

If you want to fiddle with the camera itself and it is free standing you just have to mount it close to his face.  My dd naturally leans forward, so for her she really is only a face on the screen.  It is funny to see

[Corraleno]

39 minutes ago, vonfirmath said:

I thought there was something to do with the camera 😞

Yes that is effectively what we've done. Made as plain as possible the background behind him. But I wouldn't call it easy and it takes daily maintenance to keep it that way because we don't have the space in the room to turn the desk around.

Lots of kids in DS's classes and team meetings use virtual backgrounds. I've never done it so I don't know how it works, but here is a video about it:

https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/210707503-Virtual-Background

Edited August 31, 2020 by Corraleno

[Lb20inblue]

1 hour ago, vonfirmath said:

Please tell me how to do it.

We've tried to set up my son's camera to show him but nothing in his room and I'm not finding it easy at all to manage.

 

 

I bought cheap room dividers from amazon for each kid.  That way, no matter where they zoom in the house, the background is just a room divider.

[Condessa]

If I felt the need to keep a BB gun or child's bow under lock and key, there is no way we would have those things in my house at all.  If you don't fully believe that your child is responsible enough to consistently use it correctly, your child should definitely not have it at all.

ETA: I could see keeping them locked up if you had a responsible child who wanted those things, and an irresponsible sibling who might break the rules and touch them.

Edited August 31, 2020 by Michelle Conde

[Ausmumof3]

3 hours ago, Michelle Conde said:

If I felt the need to keep a BB gun or child's bow under lock and key, there is no way we would have those things in my house at all.  If you don't fully believe that your child is responsible enough to consistently use it correctly, your child should definitely not have it at all.

ETA: I could see keeping them locked up if you had a responsible child who wanted those things, and an irresponsible sibling who might break the rules and touch them.

It would be more about teaching our kids that being responsible with weapons means keeping them secure.  

[katilac]

 

8 hours ago, Lb20inblue said:

It must be nice to be able to even have the option to own BB guns.  I can't even imagine what would happen if this picture was in the background of any brown kid in america. 

 

7 hours ago, Lb20inblue said:

I wrote something back that was not productive and realized that I'm going to try to step back and breathe through this.  

Of course I read the article, your attitude is noted and not helpful. 

With everything staying the same, I thought what would happen in this situation if the kid was brown and lived in all the different cities I have lived in here in the US.  In all cases, I just kept seeing the same outcome, cops if not SWAT team called and a family in terror.  The cops wouldn't be as understanding, especially now in this moment.  Parents probably having to deal with CPS and the impact of having to deal with law enforcement.   I didn't make make up and this isn't my anxiety speaking to me.  My six year old was having a water gun fight with a bunch of his friends in the park.  The cops came with hand on their guns and attempted to speak to my kid about a "disturbance".  Luckily, I was with the park with all the other parents and were able to defuse the situation.  What was different from my kid and the other six year olds?  We all lived in the same town, went to the same school and same income bracket.  The only difference was that my kid was brown.  

In this country we have different experiences with law enforcement and social services and the experience is determined by race and social economics.   My lens is valid and though different then yours, doesn't make it wrong. 

I absolutely agree about having to worry about a different level of response if you have a child of color. I think you confused people a bit in the first post, when you said it would be nice to even have the option to have BB guns - people got stuck on that, because they know a variety of kids who do own them. 

6 hours ago, vonfirmath said:

Please tell me how to do it.

There are a few easy ways. You can tack up a sheet or shower curtain; if the student is likely to move around a lot, this covers the largest area. If they're going to be seated in one place, just tack up a poster board. If they won't be against a wall, put one of those tri-fold boards behind them, like you use for a science fair project. 

FYI, the Chromebook version of Zoom does not support backgrounds. 

[vonfirmath]

44 minutes ago, katilac said:

 

 

I absolutely agree about having to worry about a different level of response if you have a child of color. I think you confused people a bit in the first post, when you said it would be nice to even have the option to have BB guns - people got stuck on that, because they know a variety of kids who do own them. 

There are a few easy ways. You can tack up a sheet or shower curtain; if the student is likely to move around a lot, this covers the largest area. If they're going to be seated in one place, just tack up a poster board. If they won't be against a wall, put one of those tri-fold boards behind them, like you use for a science fair project. 

FYI, the Chromebook version of Zoom does not support backgrounds. 

We have a chromebook so taht explains that.

[ScoutTN]

Ours is in a closet off a common area mos tof the time. If we had a garage it, would be there. 
Ammo is locked elsewhere and gun is used only with adult supervision.
My ds has some training from Scouts, but not enough yet. 

[Lb20inblue]

So, I read this article last night and this is a prime example of what I was trying to explain the other day.  Mind you, this kid just had a nerf toy gun, not even a bb gun. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/08/black-student-suspended-police-toy-gun/

[sassenach]

We used to have an air soft rifle and we kept it in my husband’s closet. Not locked up but certainly no child of mine was brave  or stupid enough to go into their dad’s closet without permission. The real gun is in a safe. 

[PeterPan]

47 minutes ago, Lb20inblue said:

So, I read this article last night and this is a prime example of what I was trying to explain the other day.  Mind you, this kid just had a nerf toy gun, not even a bb gun. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/09/08/black-student-suspended-police-toy-gun/

Did you happen to read through the comments? Apparently the WP got quite a bit incorrect in the article, including the nature of the gun. It in fact WAS a gun, a bb gun. And the parents WERE notified of the school's policy (behavior on screen to match behavior in person). I'm attaching a screen shot of a comment you'll find as you scroll through.

And btw, my ds has a *lot* of Nerf guns and attempts to take them in his office when we have a NO GUN policy in our homeschool office. This means that he might, if he has violated that rule (which has been the rule for years, which he knows is the rule, which is a rule for GOOD REASON) and has that nerf gun within view of his online therapy sessions I fully expect them to say something. And if he were to PICK IT UP during a session, I expect something even more severe. 

It's not his skin color. It's just how it is. I don't live in the land of De Nial. I was told upfront by our inhome workers that school and weapons are SERIOUS. There is no JOKING about weapons even. One joke and you are OUT. Out. Your disability doesn't matter, that your family hunts doesn't matter, none of it. Even a JOKE can get you expelled where my ds takes services.

So tell me, what planet does this woman live on that she thinks *ADHD* is an excuse for brandishing ANY weapon??? Ever??? My kid is diagnosed. I expect behaviors, and I keep a nice bin by his desk of ADHD appropriate fidgets. I've trained him to use the fidgets. I replenish the fidgets and make sure they stay awesome. I bring him cupcakes. There are right ways to fidget. Anybody who thinks having any form of weapon, toy or no, in their dc's school space when they are supposed to be working is just, well they're not living in my reality. I'm glad if that works for somebody else's kids, but there are a lot of reasons why it's NOT a good idea and why the school, if they made the rules clear, would intervene.

And it was a BB gun. My ds can be pretty scary with his toy guns. It's really not a joke. I have no clue why this mother thinks that was ok. The parents on the other end with their kids were probably APPALLED. The school has a responsibility to ensure appropriate behavior. 

Oh, and let's be glad THEY HAVE ACCESS TO CHARTER SCHOOLS so they have options. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by PeterPan

[PeterPan]

https://www.evike.com/products/43044/  It was an airsoft pistol shoots bbs. Minimum age 18 to buy. I'm flabbergasted they thought that was an ok "toy" to have around during school hours. But it retails only $30, so hey now all our kids can be at risk of violating virtual school rules.

[Lb20inblue]

Why would I read the comments on a public forum?  So you mean to tell me that even the local news got it wrong?  I can't even vouch if that is the real parents, I have no way of authenticating that.  But I did a quick search to find similar stories, even in the local news of CO.

https://kdvr.com/news/problem-solvers/12-year-old-suspended-over-toy-gun-seen-in-virtual-class/

Edited September 10, 2020 by Lb20inblue

[Lb20inblue]

Last point, @PeterPan My life experience as a brown middle class person is valid, whether you understand, agree and believe.  The decision that I make regarding my family will always be influenced by who I am and where I am.  For instance, I know that my child is tall for his age, so I can't pretend all is well and allow him to do what everyone else in the neighborhood does.   Even something as simple as riding bikes through the neighborhood has the potential for a bad interaction.   That is my reality, my life.   This isn't crying victim, this isn't shifting blame, It's merely being vocal to what my life is.  I'm blessed beyond measure, so please don't ever think I believe being brown is a burden, because it's not.  But life is life, you take the good and the bad.  

[Janeway]

On the wall, behind him, in direct sight of the webcam. LOL. (not sure if you read that article on that)

[JustEm]

I think there is a difference between bb guns and airsoft guns mounted on the wall being in view and the child having an airsoft gun, which from the articles I read it was that not a nerf gun, in their hand during a class.  One was more likely an oversight, while the other one was more thought out.  A public school 12 year old knows the seriousness of guns in relationship to school.