Parents are something else.... **long**

[4greatboys]

I also don't buy the "they're boys" excuse. The Columbine killers were just being "being boys" too.

That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever seen. No way in hell were Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold "being boys". Having 4 boys and them having lots of friends I can tell you NONE of them do the henious things those 2 did.


As for Dustins mom she way over reacted. The police should not have been called. I would have spoken to the boys parents though.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

I have to tell you that I really don't have a very clear concept on what this gun is either.

Why is it ok for the kids to shoot each other with them during the summer, but a February shooting involves an arrest? It seems like shooting the gun at somebody should either be illegal .... or not illegal.

Was their recently an ordinance passed against these guns or something?

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think the mom is over reacting to get the police involved but maybe for once she was glad to know her son was on the other end of the situation and wanted the other kid/kids punished just like her son would have been.

Exactly this is the case.

So moral of the story is to stay away from Dustin. It is sad, but what else can you do? I would not want my son to have his mother breathing down my kid's neck, waiting for him to mess up so she can have a go at it.

 

[Rajah]

Yeah, I'm feeling she way over-reacted as well. A talking to is all that was needed in this case.

And for those who say no toy guns should be pointed at each other -- what about paintball? Or water guns? Never played with those?

This is a major over-reaction.

 

[piglet too]

It was about a mother of a troubled kid (with an airsoft!) taking some kind of vengence out on a GOOD kid.

Is that what you think this is? We don't know the lady (which I think I am probably glad ) and I think this sad situation is even sadder if that is her reasoning behind all of this.

I agree that this may be a good reason to try and steer your son away from her kid. My oldest DS is only 11, but he too has two good friends, one is a good kid the other, eh, not so good. Both DH and I are so glad that he is hanging out with the good kid more and more. The "not so good" kid's mom got mad at us last summer for grounding our son. DS did something wrong the last week of school and we made him do community service at the school for two weeks along with being grounded. The mom complained that her son would have no one to play with and that we should not punnish our son so they could play together. (BTW ~ DS had wrote some stuff on his D.A.R.E. eraser, and got caught. The principal was actually quite shocked when we told him that we wanted DS to do C.S. as part of his punnishment and even suggested to us that we might want to steer DS away from this kid, as he could see the bad influence he was having.)

 

[inaminute]

And you know why she was driving around the neighboorhood - she's checking up on her son. I dont need to drive around checking up on Joey, nor does Scott's mom.

She's obviously aware that he has some problems. I say good for her that she's checking up on him.

Maybe Scott's mom SHOULD start checking up on him. Maybe she SHOULD have talked to him about pointing weapons (toys or not) at other people. He could do some damage with that particular "toy" under the right circumstances.

 

[tarmand]

After reading here, I thought I must be overreacting. But, I did a Google search for these guns and found this:

http://www.airsoftelite.com/products/ae5_bpag.html

DANGER: Airsoft Guns are not TOY's

WARNING: If not used properly they can be dangerous to others and yourself. The realistic look can create a uncomfortable feeling for those around you, the Airsoft Guns should NEVER be used or shown in an environment where someone may take its presence as a threat. The law enforcement officers will not think twice to have you put in cuffs and laying in the dirt before they ask questions. so please follow the safety rules listed on the instruction manual before use of the Airsoft Guns.
FOR AGE 18 YEARS OR OLDER
You must be 18 years or older to purchase and use this Airsoft Guns.


These guns appear to be made to look like real guns. I also ran across an article saying that the boy killed by the police in Florida earlier this year had this type of gun. What if the boys are running around the neighborhood with what appears to be a real gun and the police are called? How is the police to know if this is and Airsoft gun or a real gun shooting real bullets. I am by no means anti-gun, but I just think that children shouldn't be playing with this type of gun in that manner.

Oh, I think a water gun is okay, but I wouldn't want my kid going around shooting people or things with a paint gun either. There is a time and a place for such guns and unless you are using them properly, you don't need to have one, in my opinion.

 

[cats mom]

Airsoft guns can cause minor injuries (nick, welts, BB size bruises and so on). In the most sever case one can loose an eye. So when you play, it is strongly recommended that you wear the proper safety goggles. It is also highly recommended that a face guard or mouth guard be used as well. BBs have been known to chip teeth.



With that in mind, one of the most common questions asked is how much does it hurts? The pain of being shot can vary depending on the range. Long range will feel like a tap but close range shots can give a nasty sting. One of the best explanations we heard is that it feels like someone snapping you with a rubber band.


Found the above on an airgun site. Interesting.

I agree with many posters that I don't think it's a good idea for the kids to be using the guns unsupervised or to be shooting at each other, but does not sound like getting hit in the hand could cause any kind of serious injury.

I also think this is spot on:

I think the mom is over reacting to get the police involved but maybe for once she was glad to know her son was on the other end of the situation and wanted the other kid/kids punished just like her son would have been.

I've been an observer in juvenile court and believe me there are a lot more serious things going on that need the time and attention of the authorities. I'm guessing a talking-to by the police would have been plenty.
The mom does sound like she's being a bit vindictive in this case.

 

[cardaway]

Sounds like some kind of zero tolerance policy. While I'm not a fan of them when it extends into things like nail files being compared to knives ,I'm more fuzzy when it comes to projectile firing guns. Pretty hard to come up with a solid line to draw with those.

 

[Miss Jasmine]

I have to tell you that I really don't have a very clear concept on what this gun is either.

Why is it ok for the kids to shoot each other with them during the summer, but a February shooting involves an arrest? It seems like shooting the gun at somebody should either be illegal .... or not illegal.

Was their recently an ordinance passed against these guns or something?

I am guessing the charge really didn't have to do SPECIFICALLY with the gun, I bet it was a battery charge. The mom made the complaint, so the police had to follow through.

I do believe this was overkill. Should the boys be shooting at each other? Probably not. Was this worth giving a kid a criminal history? No.

 

[RitaZ.]

She's obviously aware that he has some problems. I say good for her that she's checking up on him.

I absolutely agree with this. If a parent is involved, they are over-reacting; if a parent is uninvolved, they must not care about their troubled child. You just can't win sometimes.

I tend to look at these things as warnings. Just accept what happened and move on. While the toy gun games may not be a problem for the other parents in your neighborhood, it doesn't mean that everyone agrees with it. Evidently, the boy's mom does have a problem with it.

Also, there must be some kind of law prohibiting the use of these toy guns. I would look into that.

 

[barkley]

i can't knock a mom with a problematic child driving around the neighborhood to "check up on him" (most would complain about a parent NOT supervising a problematic kid), and i hope he is'nt partialy getting this label from being in "special classes" (too often in my experience, kids in special ed. classes get labeled troublemakers for doing exactly the same inappropriate behaviours as their peers). perhaps this mom is trying to teach her son that dangerous/inappropriate behaviours are accountable for and that no-one (including the popular honor roll student) is exempt-she may be aware of his previous inappropriate use of one of these guns and had told him that she would not support his/another kids use of it in that manner.

i tend to think that there has never been police intervention with the summer activities because no-one has made it apparant/complained.

given that the one boy was charged there has to be some basis in the law (be it assault, attempted assault...) or the police could not proceed. a person cannot press charges when no illegal (by virtue of local laws) act has occured. if the district attny. moves forward and prosecutes there is a legal basis for the complaint-and like the kid or not he should be held accountable for his actions.

 

[padams]

Cathryn- I wasn't trying to compare your situation to Columbine. I was surprised that anyone would think it's ok to go around shooting their friends with pellet guns because "they're boys." I tried to pick an extreme example of behavior by boys to show that excusing any type of inappropriate conduct (even minor stuff) just because of their gender is not, IMHO, a valid justification. If it's wrong to do something, it doesn't matter what the gender of the offender is.

BTW, I do feel sorry for the kid who was turned in to the police. It's sad to see bright futures affected by stupid actions. I bet he wishes he could relive that hour of his life.

 

[Southern4sure]

Here is an article about the 15 yr old boy who was killed because his air soft rifle looked real. Some are saying in this case it was suicide by cop. Maybe so but in reality if the policeman do not know it is fake, it is shoot first then ask later.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/15/202746/135

Another including a 10 yr old
http://www.sbsun.com/ttnews/ci_3393694

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

I don't understand how "special classes" makes Dustin a bad kid. My DS11 is in resource classes and he is a honor roll student and serves on the safety patrol. Dustin may be a bad kid but it isn't because of his classes.

Dustin's mom has taken it too far but I feel that you haven't taken it seriously enough. How can the police make an arrest if what happened wasn't an offense? I think it was good that she was checking up on her son and she was right to do so.

 

[Toby'sFriend]

They are banned in Chicago and Morton Grove.

IMPORTANT SHIPPING INFO

Some State statutes and/or local ordinances prohibit the sale and possession of air guns, CO2 guns and slingshots in some areas. It is the buyers responsibility to follow his or hers area guidelines. The following are examples of areas airguns may not be shipped: Chicago IL, Morton Grove IL, Buffalo NY, Philadelphia PA, Bronx NY, Brooklyn NY, Long Island City NY, Manhattan NY, Queens NY, New York City NY, and Staten Island NY. Persons in New Jersey need a permit for any air gun. Michigan we can ship .177 caliber rifles only directly to you. We cannot ship co2 to Puerto Rico, Alaska or Hawaii. We have no control over the laws in your state or city, and we reserve the right to refuse your order. You must be 19 years of age to purchase an airgun.

 

[Planogirl]

Here is an article about the 15 yr old boy who was killed because his air soft rifle looked real. Some are saying in this case it was suicide by cop. Maybe so but in reality if the policeman do not know it is fake, it is shoot first then ask later.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/1/15/202746/135

Another including a 10 yr old
http://www.sbsun.com/ttnews/ci_3393694

We don't know if the toy gun in this case looked real or not (or if we do, I missed it.) The primary concern in our area is that toy guns look like toys so that the police don't have realistic toy guns to contend with. From what I read from the OP, the gun shot plastic pellets so it could look real or be bright pink for all I know.

Maybe nerf guns would be better? I don't think that those ever look realistic.

 

[Buckalew11]

I think it was an unfortunate situation but Scott's life isn't ruined. He learned a valuable lesson the hard way. I hope both kids know to steer clear of Dustin and not to think it is "fun" to shoot each other with these fake guns (which I am sure it is fun--I remember having neighborhood water guns fights when I was a kid!).

 

[Miss Jasmine]

They are banned in Chicago and Morton Grove.

Hmm interesting.

Edited to add: I think the AirSoft's use springs, so I don't think they would fall under this ban.

 

[CathrynRose]

I don't understand how "special classes" makes Dustin a bad kid. My DS11 is in resource classes and he is a honor roll student and serves on the safety patrol. Dustin may be a bad kid but it isn't because of his classes.

.

My son is in "special classes" too - but maybe I should have clarified.

He's in year round in school suspension. He doesnt switch classes every period, like most students, because they cant trust him (or the other ones in the class) to come back to class.

Not special - like special help. Special - like 'watched constantly".

I think we can all agree these *toys* could POSSIBLY cause some injury - my point was more that I just dont feel Scott should be facing a "record" because he was playing around, and shot this kid in his hand, when that kid owns a gun himself.

It's not zero tolerance - the police had no intention of persuing anything. The Mom is making them.

I think I will talk to Joey about hanging with Dustin anymore. Didnt think of how quickly this mom snapped, and what would happen if Joey ticked her off.