I saw the kids walking by the house on their way yesterday so it is a good time for this series.
Enjoy, readers.
"Lynn adds to items banned as weapons" by Nandini Jayakrishna, Globe Correspondent | August 13, 2009
As students in Lynn prepare for the start of another school year, the city is taking extra steps to ensure their safety.
The City Council authorized police this week to arrest students who bring to school objects that could be used as weapons, officials said.
The ordinance, which passed Tuesday, expands the definition of a weapon to include items that are otherwise legal but could be used to inflict physical harm, said Police Chief Kevin F. Coppinger.
That could mean a PENCIL or PEN, couldn't it?
Bostonians, I'm glad I am nowhere near your suck city, I'm sorry.
Students could be arrested if they bring objects such as air guns, pellet guns, BB guns, fireworks, and even bats and clubs to school without a “legitimate purpose,’’ he said....
But, but, but... I'm on the baseball team!
The ordinance allows police to act when they “come across a group of kids engaged in a fight or ready to fight,’’ he said.
How could they know?
School safety and emergency planning officer Robert Ferrari said....
“‘Look there’s no reason for you to have weapons on you, period. If you do, there will be swift and severe consequences.’’’
The change had been in the works for some time, officials said.
Coppinger:
“We’re trying to be proactive. We didn’t see an uptick in kids bringing weapons to school.’’
All this TYRANNY for NOTHING, 'eh, kiddo? Just acclimating ya fer later!
He said police will make arrests depending on an individual’s actions, motivations, and circumstances. “If a kid brought a souvenir bat and had all his buddies sign it in school, there’s nothing illegal about it,’’ he said.
But how do you know? It COULD be used as a weapon. The kid could snap!
But Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, said police should focus on students’ actions, rather than on “criminalizing objects that may have uses other than as weapons.’’
Rose, who had not read the ordinance and heard about it from a reporter, said: “Virtually any object, such as a shoe, could be used to attack another person. If the ordinance doesn’t clearly delineate specific weapons they [officials] have in mind, it has the potential to be overly broad.”
Related: Occupation Iraq: If the Shoe Fits... Throw It!
:-)
Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. said the ordinance gives police “another arrow in their quiver’’ and will protect people within the school system against those who “engage in egregious, dangerous, or antisocial behavior.’’
As if they needed another, and no it won't. Police do not prevent anything.
Essex District Attorney Jonathan W. Blodgett said the ordinance was adopted as Lynn and other urban areas see an increase in incidents in which students bring both conventional and unconventional weapons to school....
Well, THAT is a LIE because ABOVE it said there WERE NO INCREASES!
But, hey, what's ONE MORE LIE to PUSH THAT AGENDA THROUGH, 'eh, gummint?
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