Guns, Fights: The Mayors of our two towns and the police need to take control of Columbia high school or we will all be sorry

Just read the whole thread. It came full circle from panic over what was rumoured to have happened to calm explanation of what really happened which turns out to have been far less serious.

Unlike the "fights at CHS" thread, which, in spite of heroic efforts by Jude and others, has spiraled into hysteria.

Hysteria is what MOL does.

meandtheboys said:
Hysteria is what MOL social media does.

FTFY.

Woot said:

annesimms said:
It is distinctly "out of control" when any child brings a GUN to school. This happened twice in two days at two different schools. Unfortunately the fights at CHS become secondary now to the gun events but this is indeed very serious and should be address swiftly and with great concern by the administration and by the police.

For clarity, the "gun" brought to CHS was a BB gun which is not a real handgun.
And I am a heavy proponent of strict gun control. But this is not a gun that can do serious bodily harm.

In NJ bb guns are considered a firearm and fall under the same laws as regular Guns.

lewis9961 said:

Woot said:

annesimms said:
It is distinctly "out of control" when any child brings a GUN to school. This happened twice in two days at two different schools. Unfortunately the fights at CHS become secondary now to the gun events but this is indeed very serious and should be address swiftly and with great concern by the administration and by the police.

For clarity, the "gun" brought to CHS was a BB gun which is not a real handgun.
And I am a heavy proponent of strict gun control. But this is not a gun that can do serious bodily harm.

In NJ bb guns are considered a firearm and fall under the same laws as regular Guns.

Except it wasnt a BB gun, it was an air soft gun (Ed. for typo)

doulamomma said:

lewis9961 said:

Woot said:

annesimms said:
It is distinctly "out of control" when any child brings a GUN to school. This happened twice in two days at two different schools. Unfortunately the fights at CHS become secondary now to the gun events but this is indeed very serious and should be address swiftly and with great concern by the administration and by the police.

For clarity, the "gun" brought to CHS was a BB gun which is not a real handgun.
And I am a heavy proponent of strict gun control. But this is not a gun that can do serious bodily harm.

In NJ bb guns are considered a firearm and fall under the same laws as regular Guns.

Except it wasnt a BB gun, it was an air soft gun (Ed. for typo)

Airsoft guns too!

Is that true? I see this bill from 2012, but no follow up. It was sent to committee, but there's no further info on it.

lewis9961 said:

doulamomma said:

lewis9961 said:

Woot said:

annesimms said:
It is distinctly "out of control" when any child brings a GUN to school. This happened twice in two days at two different schools. Unfortunately the fights at CHS become secondary now to the gun events but this is indeed very serious and should be address swiftly and with great concern by the administration and by the police.

For clarity, the "gun" brought to CHS was a BB gun which is not a real handgun.
And I am a heavy proponent of strict gun control. But this is not a gun that can do serious bodily harm.

In NJ bb guns are considered a firearm and fall under the same laws as regular Guns.

Except it wasnt a BB gun, it was an air soft gun (Ed. for typo)

Airsoft guns too!

This is just not true. Walk into Dick's on Rt. 22. They have airsoft guns on the shelf. Anyone over 18 can walk in and purchase one on the spot, because they do not shoot metal projectiles. Go up to the gun counter. They won't even let you hold the $30 children's pink Daisy Red Ryder BB gun unless you have an NJ Firearms Purchasers ID Card. To purchase the Red Ryder, you need to go through all the same background checks as the guy next to you buying a real shotgun. Airsoft requires nothing but being 18.

2C:39-5(b)

ctrzaska said:
2C:39-5(b)

http://www.njlaws.com/unlawful-possession-weapon-2c39-5b.html

"...with sufficient force to injure a person."

Sounds like there's wiggle room. It doesn't seem like you need a permit for an airsoft gun.

Given someone was arrested and charged for shooting rubber ducks in his yard with one, and given charges ratchet up if one brings one into school, I'm thinking it would be pretty asinine to test the theory that they're harmless and devoid of consequences for possessing one in puublic.

Not saying anyone should test it and I have no issue with a kid who brings something like this into school getting tossed. I'm just wondering about the actual legality of them.

NJ has some of the strictest gun laws in the country. I'm guessing if airsoft guns were actually classified as firearms, someone in law enforcement would have realized that Dick's, Sports Authority, Walmart.com, etc. are selling them illegally. They'd also probably crack down on all the airsoft venues for allowing people to shoot each other with firearms.

The case with the airsoft gun and the rubber duck made a lot of press at the time. I haven't seen anything showing the outcome of the arrest, but I'm guessing the officer was in error, or the original stories missed some key facts.

I'm not sure about the laws surrounding carrying airsoft guns in public, but in a time when police are mistaking cellphones for guns and shooting unarmed people, carrying any sort of gun-shaped object is not wise, even if it were legal.

Tamir Rice was playing with an airsoft gun. From Wikipedia:

Rice's gun was later found to be an Airsoft replica, though lacking the orange safety feature signifying that the gun is not real.[6][7] Rice died on the day after the shooting.[8]

We are unbelievably fortunate that no tragedy occurred last week at CHS and MMS. Thank god the police officers acted with skill and restraint. Those are 2 lucky boys who are getting a chance to turn their lives around.

So this is the solution for our schools?

http://villagegreennj.com/schools-kids/south-orange-maplewood-apply-cops-schools-grants/

"South Orange leaders plan to apply for grant money to bring a dedicated police officer to South Orange Middle School, and Maplewood leaders plan to do the same for Maplewood Middle School and Columbia High School"

I don't yet have a child in the school system, but I will in a couple of years. I sure hope he does not have to go to school under these circumstances.