Finger gun suspension: 'If I was a parent, I would be highly upset'
CAMBRIDGE, Md. - Two 6-year-old elementary school students who used their fingers to make imaginary guns while on the playground for recess were suspended from school, WBOC reports.
The station said the father of one of the boys, Army Staff Sgt. Stephen Grafton, said the decision to suspend the children crossed the line.
The Talbot County Board of Education released this statement regarding the suspensions: "It is frustrating for school systems, because a complete explanation of events cannot be provided due to confidentiality requirements under the federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act."
Residents of the community offered WBOC their views on the incident.
"I think a lot of people are trying to make examples out of things they shouldn't, blowing things out of proportion," Dave Heuer of Cambridge told a reporter. "I think they've gotten a little bit strict and a little bit overboard on a lot of things, definitely not warranted and if i was a parent I would be highly upset."
Others said gun play of any kind is not appropriate for school.
"Gestures of guns and stuff like that would not so much be appropriate for in school, especially recess," said Sean O'Hara, also of Cambridge.
How stupid can people be ? Its kids playing -geeeeez take another little blue pill. How stupid can people be ? Almost every kid in the world plays cowboys and indians or cops and robbers.You libtards following owebama enjoy the ride.Us sane folks will keep our guns and religion ! If you dont remember its what our country was founded on.
My neighbors son had this same situation, he was suspended for gun play with his finger and pretending to shot his friend in the head.
Guns are not toys - they have one purpose. Responsible gun ownership has many facets and teaching children guns are not toys and playing as if you are shooting or killing someone is not funny and should be taken serious.
I personally agree with a strong statement against children pretending to shoot someone in any manner. If not addressed it sends a message that violence is OK. Is that the message our generation should be sending to the next.
The lame excuse that boys will be boys is a side step of not addressing the entire message that is being embedded.
I am also against making the toy guns, ya I am one of those.
I just don't feel guns should be viewed as a toy with young impressionable minds.
And no I am not against gun ownership I am against irresponsible gun ownership.
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I want that photo art person arrested for making a gun finger. Â
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It frightens and terrifies me.Â
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I am so concerned I pulled the covers over my head when I got in bed.Â
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I am shaking from fear.... oh wait a minute, the sheets are cold......
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I'm still terrified of the finger gun. Â LOL
Wow.... Really??!! Dont these administrators have something better to? Go grade some papers, or teach our children something worthwhile.
 @EUGENE541 So ya yeah go teach them something you say but when one blows another's head off you'll be among the first ones bitching about how the administrators should and could have prevented this tragedy and you'll rend your clothes and weep and carry on and leave those of us who have REAL RESPONSIBILITIES to pick up the pieces. Stuff it, fool!
 @necron99  @EUGENE541 NECRON99 wants our government to legislate our entire lives.Â
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DRAMA QUEEN LIBERAL! Â Go back to North Korea or China or where ever the heck you came from.Â
Total insanity...
 @Paul Kersey. And if there is a soul on this earth who knows about total insanity, it's Paul Kersey.
 @necron99 Did you just come here to insult people or do you have something to add to the conversation?
 @PleaseBeSmart Everybody knows you gun-huggers are incapable of sarcasm or other such as things as what calls for intelligence an whatnot...hunny-baby!
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/sarcasm
 @necron99 Yes, I'm aware of the fallacies. It's called sarcasm. Look it up, sweetheart.
 @PleaseBeSmart It's called a false dilemma. Look it up, sweetheart.
Jesus what would've happened if the kid had flipped somebody off...death to you. ease up just a tad and realize it was just a finger.
 @IAMHIGH You need not take the Lord's name in vain, you degenerate!
@necron99 Sorry for my lack of better words but you sir or madam suck I am by know means a Degenerate...but you must be a commenting know it all based on all your 9 points of wisdom. so you keep it up A SS HOLE and have a great evening =)
@necron99 Hahahahahahahahahahahaha don't worry I'll still be here watching ya try and bully others with your smart wit...opps did I spell it corructly ......
dumb ass.
 @IAMHIGH "know means"? I didn't accuse you of being illiterate...my bad. I'll try harder next time.
 @IAMHIGH  @necron99 Yes...my 9 points define me, just as your 341 points define you. Too bad there are an infinite number of points based on the popularity of one's comments on this board full of degenerates such as yourself. I hope that sustains you through the long, lonely nights, you moron.
Yes, given the tragedies of the past several months with weapons I'm sure some would see what these six year old's did would be in bad taste. I'm sorry, but six year old's do not yet have the comprehension of what a "make believe finger gun" means. As such, I don't think they should be held to the same standards as we expect them to be.
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My gosh, my cousins and I were always pretending to shoot each other with make believe guns...or even toy guns for that fact. While that was 50 years ago- long before all of the other killings of the 21st century- we did not grow up ever thinking of harming anyone because of our innocent child's play.
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Until children are born with the innate mental capability of an adult, I think this type of play is always going to be present. Â
High Fives have also been completely banned as this could make shorter children feel uncomfortable about their height....
 @Ritual99 Actually, in a New York kids soccer league, they HAVE banned the high 5's, as they transmit the flu....  They now have to bump elbows instead of high 5....  Go figure...  It's not like they don't bump each other and touch each other during the game....  I'm surprised they are allowed to raise their hands and answer the teacher, lest it cause a child to feel left out that they did not get called on.....  Insane.....
 @JJ97477  @Ritual99 Yes...everybody should get the flu...I'm sure it's in the Constitution somewhere...you idiot.
Wow...  Did I actaully say everyone should get the flu? No, but I did say they banned high 5's because they were afraid of passing the flu. As if the soccer game interactions wouldn't have done so already?  As I've seen from other postings you've done, you're quite the troll on these forums. You seem to think we should change things as simple as high 5's ina kids soccer game rather than do something as simply as washing your hands to avoid such things as the flu. Never had a flu shot in my life, but have had the flu only a few times in my life (and i am not sure it was full blown flu compared to a simple cold).  But I DO practive good hygeine... Maybe you don't.......
All I see is a bunch of finger pointing going on. Â Next thing we'll be expelling kids for simply uttering the "G Word". Â Â
 @Arch Stanton Gonnorhea?Â
I understand both sides. And it also sounds as if the School Board cannot release a full explanation. Maybe there is more to the story than is presented here. I have t withhold judgement (it would only be my opinion anyway), until more information comes out, if it ever does.
Even if it was just a gesture it was done in poor taste and should not be tolerated under any circumstances. You can not solve all of life's problems with a gun or a gesture,life is not a video game. Children need to learn this at an early age and sadly this lesson often falls to the schools because people today really seem to not know how to/do not care to discipline their children. It does matter at this young age that they learn this,learn how to effectively solve their problems without resorting to any form of violence,and when they don't they end up like Kip Kinkle. In light of all the senseless shootings recently you'd think people would wise up,but here we have some worthless father who disagrees with the schools choice on how to operate and thinks his little angel is doing no wrong. No your kid is the problem,not the school. Zero tolerance mean zero tolerance. I think the Dad is all upset that he'll have to watch his little monster. I'm not anti gun at all,but any mention of guns has no place in school,that is something that parents need to educate their children on and the schools need to have a strict policy in place. When I was that age if my parents got a call from the school about something I'd done,my parents were never on my side,and they were not on my side for a reason,I was guilty of whatever caused the school to contact my parents. People need to hold their children accountable for their actions,not get all bent out of shape they got a call from the school because they failed to teach their child how to act in public. I fully support the school on this.
 @Eric B. Larson It's going to be interesting teaching about wars without mentioning guns. Should we be blurring them out of pictures in history books too? LOL. Sorry, but kids playing guns has gone on for a very long time and there is nothing wrong with it. It's not "resorting to violence." It's just games.
 @PleaseBeSmart  @Eric B. Larson The content of games may seem like a innocent play time to an adult with all the knowledge you have gained, children are without that knowledge. They are very impressionable and take the message sent from the adults as what is acceptable and good and what is not. The adults are the ones that call that, not the child.
So allowing "gun play" is ok because the child realizes it is fun and ok with the adults. And when they find that gun in the house - how do they know it is any different?
 @PleaseBeSmart being taught it is fun and ok and not ok and not fun?? Double standards. What is a six year old going to be taught? Respect for what a gun is, what it does and what it is used for sounds obvious and logical but that goes against it being ok for play...not really an answer.
 @colorowdy By being taught, obviously.
 @PleaseBeSmart  @Eric B. Larson Yes, pixelate all the guns you want, but leave the images of cigarettes. After all, they built this country. It wasn't guns.
@Eric B. LarsonÂ
Good greif these kids are 6, do you honestly think they meant anything other than innocent play? Did you not play cops and robbers or, cowboys and indians as a kid? You obviously don't have kids or, you would know that at this age they are still innocent. Just because other terrible things are going on in the world does not mean that little children mean harm to others. If this was a couple of high/middle school kids with a threat involved, I might think a little different. Get off your high horse and how dare you call somebody else's child a little monster and say he will end up like Kip Kinkle. In all honesty, it's people like you that are the "problem". I think the school took it too far by suspending these kids, an explanation of why they shouldn't make those gestures in school would have been sufficient enough.
 @Eric B. Larson You sound like a failed 30 year old with too much time on his hands.
 @Ritual99  @Eric B. Larson And you sound like a very failed forty-year-old who has run out of lubricant.Â
@necron99 @Ritual99 @Eric B. Larson See bulling everyone F uck stick
@Eric B. Larson
 They are six talk to them, maybe a time out but come on people they are six.