I didn't know bullets were dangerous!

[Lady Di]

Am I missing something here? This kid brings bullets (NOT a gun) to school and all hell breaks loose? I'm not advocating that children bring bullets to school; I'm just saying the reaction to this is a little overboard. :roll:

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071109/NEWS09/71109005

[VegasGeorge]

"Police don't believe the boy understood the danger behind the bullets ...."

Excuse me? The only time I've ever heard of a bullet by itself being dangerous is when some redneck uses a .22 bullet as a substitute for a missing fuse in his car. I've read a story or two about a bullet overheating in that situation, detonating, and injuring an occupant of the car. Otherwise, I think bullets are a lot safer than pencils.

[Lady Di]

They are indeed safer than pencils, VG. Sharpened pencils can be dangerous weapons.

[Bill of Rights]

7-year-old brought bullets to Mishawaka school
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

MISHAWAKA - A 7-year-old boy who brought a bag of bullets to a Mishawaka school is being kept home for a couple days.

Police say the boy told officers he found the .38-caliber bullets in a drawer at home when he was looking for a quarter. He brought the bullets to St. Monica's school on Tuesday and apparently shared them with four other students.

A school official says the boy was required to stay home from school through Friday so he could understand the seriousness of the situation. Parents of the first-graders were notified by letter of the incident.

Police don't believe the boy understood the danger behind the bullets or that he meant to threaten anyone in the school.

Several questions come to mind.
1) What did he bring? Was it just bullets or full cartridges? Terminology matters. If he indeed only brought bullets, the danger was absolutely nonexistent, while with cartridges, it was exceptionally minimal.
2) He found the bullets in a drawer while he was looking for a quarter. For the moment, I'm going to go with the insinuation that they were, in fact, cartridges, not mere bullets, and the question then becomes, "Why were their live cartridges not in a gun or a speedloader, and why were they accessible to someone who didn't "(understand) the danger behind the bullets".
3) At seven, with a gun presumably in the house, why didn't he understand the danger associated with irresponsible use of firearms? Oh, wait, I know that one... because the parent or other person who owned the cartridges is similarly irresponsible, else the cartridges would have been in or at least with the firearm.
4) He was required to stay home to make him undertand the seriousness of the situation. Hmm. When I was growing up, that got handled with a http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd198/St-Michael/spank.gif
5) "Parents... were notified by letter" And what do you bet that letter just further reinforced the "guns are BAD! Guns are EEEEVIL!" propaganda?http://i221.photobucket.com/albums/dd198/St-Michael/drool.gif

If these are the qualities of our future leaders, God help us all. As for me,
Cogito, ergo porto.

Blessings,
M