If he had a gun the N.R.A. would be fighting for him

Boy fights weapons infraction
By JEN SANSBURY
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 11/23/04

The parents of a 9-year-old suspended for having a small, dull knife in class say DeKalb County school officials have gone overboard on discipline.

Fourth-grader Jason Simmonds will be back at Marbut Theme Elementary School on Monday after a four-day suspension for "possession of a weapon" because of a tiny black pouch he took to school last week.

Jason Simmonds
Jason Simmonds, 9, holds the small utility knife that got him suspended from school.
…One side of the pouch that Jason took to school holds a pocketknife-style mechanism with a flip-out file, bottle opener and a dull 1-5/8-inch blade.

"I've got butter knives that are sharper than that," said Jason's mother, Carol Simmonds. It was confiscated by a substitute teacher after Jason twirled it around on his pencil and it dropped onto the floor.

Associate Superintendent Frankie Callaway said Marbut officials did not suspend Jason because of the knife alone.

"It had a second item inside that could have harmed the child himself or other children," she said.

Callaway initially said she was informed the compact toolkit included "a corkscrew with a point on it."

Then she said she was told it had four items: an "Army knife," a bottle opener, a file and a pair of scissors.

Posted by Prometheus 6 on November 24, 2004 - 3:44am :: News | Race and Identity
 
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No; the NRA is not as hard core as most think. They support most gun laws on the books, with only a few exceptions here & there. Ditto for general weapons prohibition type laws.

The only way the NRA would have stood up for this kid is if he'd have been suspended for having a picture of a gun (as on a t-shirt)

But a dull knife...they're more dangerous than sharp ones. We should start a fundraiser to buy the kid a whetting stone - well assuming the "zero tolerance" thing doesn't land him in the pen for 20 years. Hell, back in my day us kids always had a pocket knife. Nothing fancy or real big, but there was really nothing worse than needing a pocket knife & not having one.

Posted by  Publicola (not verified) on November 24, 2004 - 4:53pm.

Okay, I was just trying to thinkl of something as outrageous as this case. Actually, I think the NRA does a little too much but only a little.

Posted by  Prometheus 6 on November 24, 2004 - 7:38pm.