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Colorado SB 9-237 clears Judiciary Committee-a small victory for liberty and the Young Marines
February 26, 2009 | Tagged Cherry Creek Schools, CO Legislature, Marie Morrow, Young Marines, Zero Tolerance | Leave a Comment
Last night, the Colorado State Senate Judiciary Committee passed SB 9-237. This bill restored a sliver of sanity to regulations about the possession of simulated guns on school grounds, while illustrating just how paranoid the schools and state government have become following the Columbine Massacre. The bill’s prime sponsors were Republican Senator Lundberg and Republican Representative Acree.
The hearing ran for several hours, most of which seemed to be spent by the Judiciary Committee in devising language that would grant some discretion to school districts in choosing to suspend or expel students for bringing simulated firearms to school. Current Colorado law requires suspension/expulsion for a facsimile gun on school property.
Interesting testimony was provided, which indicated that a ten-day suspension is almost a guarentee that a student would fail an entire year. If Cherry Creek Schools had not moved up Young Marine Leader Marie Morrow’s hearing, she would have suffered about a ten day suspension, as the result of bringing three non-functional wood and plastic cadet-type training rifles to school. She was planning to use the rifles in preparation for a drill team competition at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. (See my post,”Zero Tolerance = Zero Intelligence,” under the Category: “Colorado State Issues.”
I believe Ms. Morrow’s disciplinary hearing in the school system, which occured several days before the Senate hearing on this bill, was moved up from its originally scheduled date due to pressure largely brought by Denver Talk Show Host, Peter Boyles. The district seemed to want this situation to just go away. Boyles arguably saved Ms. Morrow’s high school career.
”Zero Tolerance” was not really addressed in the hearing, except for brief tesimony from the Firearms Coalition of Colorado. The focus of the proposed law was narrowly aimed at the possession of simulated guns, essentially in a motor vehicle. Carrying a simulated firearm without school authorization outside a vehicle will still almost certainly result in a severe application of the full awful weight of district authority.
(For gosh sakes, as a student, don’t point a finger with a cocked thumb at another student in play, or you will learn the true meaning of “zero tolerance.” I am still somewhat miffed over a grade school performance of Peter and the Wolf, held a few years ago in the Cherry Creek School District. The hunters in the story carried plumber’s helpers instead of even simulated guns. There was no symbolic artistic meaning intended there. Not! They didn’t shoot the wolf, as was done in the original. As I remember they negociated a “progressive” non-aggression pact and lived happily everafter.)
At the end of the long day in the Senate Judiciary Committee, this bill apparently gives school districts the ability to decide not to discipline a student for a training rifle in a car, if law enforcement determines that the simulated gun is not a threat. The committee chair admitted that the language may not have been the best that could be found, but promised to work with the Republican sponsor of the bill to fix any problems during second reading on the floor of the Senate, when it will be possible to offer further amendmments.
The amount of angst generated by this seemingly common sense legislation indicates just how impossible it would be to get a real individual rights bill passed in Colorado’s current legislative climate. It does not bode well for the Second Amendment in Colorado that even this extremely limited concession to practicality caused so much controversy.
In a Sportsman’s Caucus meeting today at the Capitol, pro-individual rights Democratic Senator Lois Tochtrop pointed out that there are currently no anti-gun bills active in either house of the legislature. We will see what transpires after the state budget is passed. I hope the situation remains quiet.
Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. (Thomas Jefferson)
Def Mech