Is Montana losing the battle against lefties? (Columbia Falls: for sale, home)

[mica]

This news story sounds like something that would come out of CA,MD or IL.

Honor roll student, Class treasurer, cheerleader facing expulsion for having an unloaded hunting rifle in her trunk.

Montana Honor Student Faces Expulsion for Leaving Hunting Rifle in Car While at School - FoxNews.com

[Rickers]

I'm not a rightie but if I was battling the lefties I would allow myself to be captured, join their side and then I would become an embedded counter intelligence agent for the righties However I'm not a rightie or a leftie and don't give a flying rats patootie about fighting over politics. Too old with high blood pressure.
I do think that the color of our state used to be a bit on the red side and isn't in the blue yet. I would say it is a pit purple at the moment.
Montana needs a breath of fresh air (blood) and will be right as rain after the floods recede in a couple of years.
I have ark plans for sale if any one wants to build one in the backyard.

[MTSilvertip]

The Columbia Falls school is beholden to the feds for all that tax money they get each year. Federal mandates set up how the school is forced to react.

The outpouring of outrage from the citizens of the state has really helped my view of how this state is going. If you go to any of the state newspapers and read the response to the article, the school administrators are not getting a good review.

The last article I saw concerning this situation was that it is within the jurisdiction of the school board to waive all or part of the suspension, and from what I heard it is very possible that this miscarrage of justice will be overturned.

When you become beholden to washington for your money, you accept their rules, no matter how stupid they are.
The school and administrators should be ashamed of themselves and I really hope this shows up in the next school board elections.

[Floridahater]

Originally Posted by MTSilvertip

The Columbia Falls school is beholden to the feds for all that tax money they get each year. Federal mandates set up how the school is forced to react.

The outpouring of outrage from the citizens of the state has really helped my view of how this state is going. If you go to any of the state newspapers and read the response to the article, the school administrators are not getting a good review.

The last article I saw concerning this situation was that it is within the jurisdiction of the school board to waive all or part of the suspension, and from what I heard it is very possible that this miscarrage of justice will be overturned.

When you become beholden to washington for your money, you accept their rules, no matter how stupid they are.
The school and administrators should be ashamed of themselves and I really hope this shows up in the next school board elections.

Well said! As an educator I know that there is definitely no "free lunch" in ED!!

[strudel42]

Left, right, left, right. Blah blah blah. Neither side has a monopoly on Stupid.

I predict the kid gets a paid college education courtesy of the NRA.

[montygarlic]

The Gun Free Schools Act says, "Nothing in this section shall apply to a firearm that is lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property, …" What Demari did was activity protected by federal law, not prohibited by it. - from a statement by Gary Marbut, MSSA

The kid will NOT be expelled, and a lot of people are going to get a lesson in law and government at the meeting in C. Falls tonite as well as on the news reports and newspapers tomorrow.

Count on it.


mg

[Venusian_Artist]

Liberalism is a cancer. Reality and consequences are the cure.

[Walter Greenspan]

Fwd: From: Gary Marbut-MSSA
Sent: Monday, December 13, 2010 4:07 PM
To: mssa@mtssa.org
Subject: Prepared statement re Demari


Dear MSSA Friends,

This evening at 6 PM is the expulsion hearing for Demari DeReu for inadvertently leaving her hunting rifle locked in the trunk of her car at school.

MSSA Director Tom Opre will present my prepared statement to the Columbia Falls High School Board of Trustees at the hearing this evening.

FYI, my prepared statement is below. Also FYI, from 1996 to 2007, 236 Montana kids were expelled (not including those who were only suspended) under the auspices of the federal Gun Free Schools Act. Given the trend, that number is probably 350 by now, and probably over 300 were incidents much like Demari - a kid just forgot to take a hunting rifle out of their car or pickup.

There WILL be a bill before the 2011 Legislature to curb this abuse of Montana kids by school officials.

Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association
===================

December 13, 2010

Columbia Falls High School
Board of Trustees

Dear Trustees,

This evening the Board considers the possibility of expelling a model student from the Columbia Falls High School. You are forced to consider this possibility specifically because of the actions of one or more of your employees.

Unfortunately, you have a larger issue to wrestle with than whether or not to expel Demari DeReu. You will have figured out by now that Demari doesn't deserve expulsion and you will probably let her off for "time served."

However, the larger problem are your employees who fueled this incident, employees who overreacted needlessly and chose to make a mountain out of a molehill. Your employees have claimed that in this type of incident their "hands are tied" by the federal Gun Free Schools Act. In offering this excuse for their misconduct, your employees are either incompetent or they are trying to dodge personal responsibility.

The Gun Free Schools Act says, "Nothing in this section shall apply to a firearm that is lawfully stored inside a locked vehicle on school property, ." What Demari did was activity protected by federal law, not prohibited by it. Your employees were wrong.

Your employees have injured an innocent person. Whatever employees are responsible for this fiasco, and for being either incompetent or dishonest, have caused Demari and her family a great deal of emotional and psychological trauma. Your employees have exposed Demari to public scorn and ridicule. Your employees may have damaged Demari's opportunity to enter college or obtain scholarships for college. With reckless disregard for the welfare and future of this model student and her family, your employees made a snap judgment that was wrong and harmful.

So, the larger question before the Board this evening is, what will you do about whatever of your employees are responsible for causing this problem?

Demari volunteered that her unloaded and cased hunting rifle was locked in the trunk of her car. She asked your employees if she could take her car home and remove her hunting rifle. She was denied that opportunity. Your employees could have told her that the rifle locked in her vehicle was protected by federal law and no big deal -- don't worry about it. Instead of that, she was suspended and suspended in a way that forced her into an expulsion hearing. Her parents were told both in writing and verbally that she would be expelled for a year. The intent of school officials was to hang her. In defense they claim their "hands are tied" by federal law. They were wrong.

It turns out that your employees made a very serious mistake, a mistake because federal law protects rather than prohibits what Demari did, and serious because an innocent person was injured because of their mistake.

Your employees may claim that they were unaware of the fact that Demari's conduct was protected, not prohibited, by federal law. These employees are highly compensated, probably paid twice the median income in Montana or more, and hold themselves out to be professionals. You hired them because of their supposed competence and professionalism. They also have authority that, if used unwisely, can injure students in their charge. Because of their authority and advertised and assumed professionalism, they are paid to be versed in things such as federal laws they claim to enforce. For the amount they are paid and the responsibility they accept, they have a duty to not be misinformed. Saying, "Gosh, I didn't know" is simply unacceptable.

The community and many others are waiting with great interest to learn what the Board of Trustees will do about the mistakes or misconduct of its employees.

Sincerely yours,

/s/
Gary Marbut, president
Montana Shooting Sports Association

[Timberwolf232]

When I was a kid we got opening week off from school.. It was rare NOT to have a rifle or shotgun in the rack in your pickup in the school parking lot.

Problem is we have YOUNG out of state teachers, school administrators, and reporters that like to make something out of nothing, because, well I guess they think their day jobs are too boring.

I liked it better in Montana before national interest in our great state rose to the point that every single local news story got picked up by the AP and put in the national spotlight. It really isn't (and wasn't to begin with) that big of a deal.

[Mt-7]

Oh boy
The world has found Montana.
When hubs was a kid he too had his hunting rife in the pickup in Oregon. No longer. Kids are kicked out of schools now with blank check offenses. No consideration to the student, current grade standing, nothing.
This is sad but it is the beginning. So sorry to read this.

Can someone keep us advised?