HS Student Wants To Pose W/Gun For Yearbook Photo

[MrsSpringsteen]

http://www.thewmurchannel.com/news/3759048/detail.html

So what do you think, should he be allowed to?

 

[A_Wanderer]

What a Maroon!

 

[chelle00]

Even though the gun is for skeet shooting, I agree with the school's decision to disallow the photo. It sends the wrong message and not everyone will know its a skeet gun. School photos should reflect activities held/participated in during school. This photo would start a dangerous precedent. What's next, students wanting to pose with their knife collections or homemade bombs???

 

[Liesje]

Hmmm, that's something that would probably happen at my HS, if it hasn't already (you should see our classrooms on opening deer or trout day!). I guess technically I don't see anything wrong with it. Every other person has a picture with their cat, horse, car, motorcycle, guitar, basketball, etc. If the kid can't have his pic w/ the gun, then they should allow headshots/portraits only. I know a few schools that already do this. You can have whatever you want to pass out, but in the yearbook you can only have your face with a solid background.

I think more schools should use the above said policy b/c honestly, when I page through my little bro's yearbook, I'd probably never notice a kid with a rifle, but what I DO notice are all these huge chested, fake baked, barbie blonde girls wearing the skimpiest shirt they could cram themselves into and then doing these poses where they lean against a railing so as to make each boob on its own appear larger than her head. My bro was showing our family the pics he'd got from girls and most of us agreed we'd never let our girls use a picture like the ones they were giving out (unless they were trying out to be a Playboy centerfold or something).

 

[Headache in a Suitcase]

live free or die, man... welcome to new hampshire.

 

[pax]

If they allow horses or trumpets or whatever, they probably have to allow the skeet gun.

My high school (and college, come to think of it) only allowed plain headshots for the yearbook portraits. Simple as that.

 

[Angela Harlem]

Um. It's a gun. How is it different to someone wanting to pose with a guillotine or a machette? Perhaps a Cat'O Nine Tails or one of those torture wheels.


Complacency is what adds to America's 11,000+ deaths per year from firearms. Very sad.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

I agree w/ Angela

 

[dandy]

tricky question.

my first reaction was to agree with angela, too. guns are glorified enough already in american mainstream culture. the last thing the country needs is for teenagers to be posing with them in high school yearbooks.

but.... the article isn't clear if he's into target practice or hunting. either way, are these less legitimate hobbies than say soccer or chess? he's not advocating violence in schools. he just wants his photo to reflect what he sees as part of his identity, like the kids posing with their musical instruments or sports gear.

there are strong arguments on both sides. i'm leaning more towards the latter, but i understand why this is controversial.

 

[U2democrat]

I posed with my "I DC" shirt........

I'm conflicted on this one. I'm all for the expression of his hobby and all, but at the same time it does send the wrong message whether he meant to or not.

 

[Liesje]

Um. It's a gun. How is it different to someone wanting to pose with a guillotine or a machette? Perhaps a Cat'O Nine Tails or one of those torture wheels.

I think this is a hard one b/c in a lot of places, everyone who saw that pic would know it's just a skeet gun. I'm wondering if my HS would even care if my bro was wearing his orange and camo and holding his deer rifle in pic. Everyone around here would know instantly that it's not the kind of weapon you use to kill someone.

I think whatever decision is made, it needs to be fair. If the kid can't hold a skeet gun, then the next kid can't have his motorcycle. Like dandy said, who's to decide which hobby is OK and which one is considered "violent" (even when in reality it's less violent team sports).

I wonder, what if it were once of those fencing pokers/swords/whatever, or what if the kid were wearing a karate outfit? I mean, fencing and karate are a WHOLE lot more violent than shooting clay pigeons! Even football is more violent than skeet shooting and lots of guys pose with football gear.

 

[verte76]

I don't like the idea of posing for a high school picture with a gun. I think the people who told him he couldn't are being reasonable. It's sending the wrong message. It's saying that it's OK to have a gun in school. We've already got a problem with too much violence in the schools.

 

[nbcrusader]

This is really matter of a school's right to regulate or restrict a student's free speech. Students do not full free speech rights at school. This case is tough if the student is part of a shooting club or some other such activity. If other students can hold the instruments of their school activities, this student should be able to.

I note that the photo show him holding the gun in a non-threatening way - it is clear that this is a hobby of his.

 

[DrTeeth]

I note that the photo show him holding the gun in a non-threatening way - it is clear that this is a hobby of his.

I agree, as much as I oppose guns, I don't see that much harm in it. However it is good that schools are looking into it in case someone wants to pose in his KKK outfit or with an RGP.

 

[verte76]

Interesting points about the fact that this is a hobby for him. Would the big shots take exception to someone wanting to pose in medieval armor with a (fake) SCA rattan-made sword? Damn. This issue just got ten times more complicated for me.

 

[hiphop]

Can anyone explain me what a "Maroon" is in public perception, is that some kind of bad word? I am interested, because I know another meaning but really can´t figure out what A_Wanderer means.

 

[nbcrusader]

It is a way of saying "moron", I believe used by Bugs Bunny.

 

[hiphop]

Oh. I am surprised about that.

I visited the Maroons on my trip to Jamaica. The Maroons are descendants of slaves. They fought the English sucessfully over 200 years ago.

The Maroons succesful strategy was retreating into the Jamaican mountains (a region known as "Cockpit Country"), and they were granted their own land by the English, after the Maroon national hero Cudjoe signed a peace treaty and promised not to kill any more English soldiers (who were hunting for them) in the hills of Jamaica in the 18th century.

Up to this day, the Maroons hold their own land and are officially independent of the Jamaican government. They don´t pay taxes, many of them are poor, the roads to go to Cockpit Country are a joke (I needed an hour for 4 miles); still, they prefer to stay independent. I had the honor of staying at one of the Colonels of the Maroons and will never forget the respect with which they treated me.

Therefore, it would be a good idea to think twice before using the term "Maroon" in a disrespectful way.

 

[nbcrusader]

That's quite interesting. I'm doubt many knew about the Maroons. Thank you for posting the info.


I'm pretty sure Warner Bros. were not aware of the Maroons when the did the comic films half a century ago.

 

[pax]

Wow, you learn something new every day in FYM.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

N.H. student sues high school in effort to pose with gun in yearbook photo

By Beverley Wang, Associated Press Writer November 16, 2004

CONCORD, N.H. -- Where other students might pose for their senior yearbook photo with tennis rackets or favorite cars, Blake Douglass wants to be seen with his shotgun.

The 17-year-old senior filed a federal lawsuit to force Londonderry High School to allow the photo and give up the policy school officials used to reject it.

"What they're doing is basically discriminating based on content or message," said Penny Dean, Douglass' lawyer and a specialist in gun cases. "You can't do that. You might want to but you can't -- and especially you can't with a broad policy like this."

"We want the picture in the yearbook," said Dean said after filing the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court.

The lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction so the picture can appear in the yearbook and a permanent injunction against the "pick-and-choose policy" of what photographs are published, Dean said.

The lawsuit names the Londonderry school board members, high school principal, school superintendent, town manager and school officials involved in the production of the yearbook.

 

[Liesje]

The lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction so the picture can appear in the yearbook and a permanent injunction against the "pick-and-choose policy" of what photographs are published, Dean said.

It should be an all-or-nothing policy.

 

[Macfistowannabe]

Thanks for posting the article back up, as the link no longer works. Isn't it illegal for a 17 year old to have a gun? Even if it isn't, I think the kid clearly crossed a fine line. He probably wants to be feared in his school for whatever reason.

 

[swizzlestick]

Let me preface this by saying I am a Republican. Probably the main reason why I am a Republican is the 2nd Amendment rights they protect more than Democrats. I own a high powered deer rifle and a 12 gauge shotgun for responsible hunting. I love hunting in so many ways. I am sure I stand alone on this issue even among some of my fellow conservatives in FYM. That debate is for another day. That being said, here are my $.02 on this issue.

I too am torn between this one. I think this student should be allowed to pose for his senior picture with his skeet shoot gun even if it isn't a school activity mainly because this is his hobby. This is what defines his high school years in his eyes. This is his extra curricular activity. On the other hand, ultimately the School Board is the Editor-in-Chief of the school paper or yearbook and has the right to say what gets published and what doesn't. I understand there has been a compromise on the school board's part by allowing the picture to be in a "community sports" section.

Is it the gun that scares people or the violence its user possesses? I am sure this kid is a great kid. Why is this any different than someone posing with their dog? Or their sports car that is their pride and joy? What if he was posing with his bow and arrows? Or a slingshot? I understand the school doesn't want to give a threatening presence, but why then would they allow the picture to placed in a "sports community" section? Back when I was in high school, we had guys posing with their Rodeo gear. There even was one guy who posed in one of those clown wigs. If anything this photo is promoting responsible gun ownership. Society does a great job of painting this horrible picture of guns as a whole, but cannot do the same when something positive comes up about them.

 

[Liesje]

Is it the gun that scares people or the violence its user possesses? I am sure this kid is a great kid. Why is this any different than someone posing with their dog? Or their sports car that is their pride and joy? What if he was posing with his bow and arrows? Or a slingshot? I understand the school doesn't want to give a threatening presence, but why then would they allow the picture to placed in a "sports community" section? Back when I was in high school, we had guys posing with their Rodeo gear. There even was one guy who posed in one of those clown wigs. If anything this photo is promoting responsible gun ownership. Society does a great job of painting this horrible picture of guns as a whole, but cannot do the same when something positive comes up about them.

Like I said, they need an absolute rule. B/c the way I see it, football, restling, and hockey are WAY more violent than skeet shooting, lol, but I don't are if those kids get pictures in their sports equipment. And a kid posing with his dog....what if his dog is a gun dog? That's hunting too, same diff. But it's ok b/c it's the cute little puppy wuppy and not the actual shot gun right? Or kids that pose on their bikes...I bet more people get injured on motorcycles than skeet shooting accidents......

 

[Flying FuManchu]

The kid is probably ruining it (the whole yearbook picture thing) for everyone else in the long run unless they allow him to pose with his gun...

But he has a point.