Toys Aren't Weapons

The lamestream media told you:

Two students charged with bringing weapons to school
By Jim Jaworski, Tribune reporter

Police arrested two Julian Middle School students who were found in possession of weapons on school property, Oak Park Elementary District 97 officials said this week.

A sixth-grade boy on Thursday reportedly brought a small metal cap gun to school. School staff and the police resource officer confiscated the weapon after other students notified them, district officials said. The 12-year-old was arrested at Julian and charged with misdemeanor aggravated assault.

“He showed it to some students and displayed it in a threatening manner to others,” said Cmdr. LaDon Reynolds.

While both the district and police initially reported that the item was a starter pistol, a small firearm that shoots blanks, Reynolds said that, after they were able to examine the item, it was actually a metal cap gun that closely resembles a firearm. The gun only uses caps that create noise and was not loaded, so Reynolds said no one was in any danger.

“While I am incredibly disappointed by the news of these incidents, I am pleased to report that nobody was harmed in either one,” Superintendent Al Roberts said in a statement. “I also want to applaud everyone involved for the effective way they handled these matters. Their quick, decisive action helped ensure the continued safety of our students, staff and community.”

School officials also are conducting their own investigation into the incidents.

“The district is expected to hand down the strictest discipline allowed by board policy,” district spokesman Chris Jasculca said.

The Uninvited Ombudsman notes however that:

Dear Mr. Jaworski,

I have no doubt that the officials you quote in your story referred repeatedly to the "weapon" this child had, but as a reporter, you have a duty to accuracy. Accurately reporting false statements is not accuracy, and misleads your readers. A cap gun is a toy, not a weapon, by any definition you can find. A weapon can harm a person. A toy is for child's play. A cap gun is no more dangerous than a football.

With news distortion on firearms issues so high, it behooves you to be especially careful when covering such stories, to avoid the appearance of or actual bias. In the interest of journalistic integrity, you should ask your editors to run a short correction, such as, "[Ref: the article] The paper mistakenly referred to a child's cap-gun toy, as did people quoted in the story, as a weapon. It is a toy. We regret the error."

Erroneous tales like this one only serve to support the now widely circulating rumor that communists -- the old hobgoblin we all thought we defeated -- are actually at work quietly subverting American values, by attacking traditions like firearms ownership to further their goals, and capturing the minds of educators, police, the news media and others with mindless propaganda like this. Please don't support such nonsense. You know a cap gun is a toy. Make the correction.

Alan.

No reply has been received.
jjaworski@tribune.com
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