This School District Is Not Happy With A Judge’s Ruling In Favor Of A Dad’s Right To Open-Carry

You know, the problem isn't with guns. The problem is that people don't know a darn thing about them.

According to this, a dad named Kenneth Herman won a suit in which he sued his daughter's elementary school for not allowing him to pick her up because he had a pistol on her belt. Herman lives in Michigan, where state law allows permit holders to open-carry in schools, even if the school is a "Gun-Free Zone." But school officials freaked out when Herman showed up at his daughter's school with his gun and wouldn't let him pick her up from school.

First of all – I'm glad that the judge ruled in favor of the dad. And it sounds like the judge came to his decision quickly. But then I read what the school district's attorney had to say in reaction to the ruling. And it makes me want to tear my hair out –

Tim Mullins, the school district’s attorney, argued that the law also allows school districts to develop policies for the “safety and protection of students,” according to the Free Press.

 

Mullins said he expects the school district will appeal Hayman’s decision, as does Michigan Open Carry, the nonprofit that represented Herman.

 

“If I’m a principal and I’m sitting in my office and I see someone walking up to my building with a gun, what am I supposed to do?” Mullins said. “What they do is declare a lockdown, they call the police. Kids are afraid. Teachers are afraid. Education stops. And then the police come.”

And then there's this from Superintendent Fletcher Spears (who, incidentally, has a carry permit himself. I can't figure out what his thinking is here, honestly) –

“The legislature needs to step up and get the focus on education, and not on some guy who wants to carry a gun in a school,” Clio Area School District Superintendent Fletcher Spears said.

 

Spears is a member of the National Rifle Association and has a concealed carry license himself. He also supports legislation that allows for concealed carry in schools. His issue is with open carry.

 

“Open carry does not have a place in the schools,” he said.

So, basically you're teaching kids to fear guns and all who use them. Including the police. Because you're too scared to even see a gun without running for the lockdown protocol. Even if the person carrying a gun isn't doing so in a threatening or violent way (trust me – you can tell if someone with a gun means to do harm). And even if the person carrying a gun is just there to pick up his daughter and he CHOOSES to carry a gun as a way to protect himself and his family.

The problem isn't the visibility of the guns. The problem is the attitude toward the gun. And this school district's attitude towards guns absolutely sucks.