Assault Weapon Derangement Syndrome:
(Washington Examiner) — A Montgomery County elementary school student was suspended for a pretend gunshot a week after Adam Lanza killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.
The 6-year-old, who attends Roscoe R. Nix Elementary School in Silver Spring, made a gun with his hands, pointed it at another student and said “pow,” according to Robin Ficker, the boy’s attorney. He was given a one-day suspension, with a conference on the matter planned for Jan. 2, the day students return to school from winter break.
“What they’re doing is looking at the worst possible interpretation of a young, naive 6-year-old,” Ficker said. “This is a little child who can’t form the intent to do anything like that.”
According to a letter sent by Assistant Principal Renee Garraway to the child’s parents, this was not the first time something like this had happened.
“Your son … was involved in a serious incident,” Garraway wrote. “[He] threatened to shoot a student. He was spoken to earlier today about a similar incident.”
This is getting out of control fast. If this hyperventilation doesn’t subside soon, politicians will use Newtown to disarm the American public.
The definition of “assault weapon” has expanded, apparently
Sifting Reality 
He was given a one-day suspension
If this is as reported, it is silly. Suspended for what?
If, on the other hand, there are multiple threats of abuse/harm from this child, then getting the child some help would be appropriate – the “finger gun” aside, threats are not okay.
Dan, from the article it appears that the “finger gun” was the threat.
This has happened in other schools before; it’s all part of the insane “zero tolerance” policy. People enforcing such policies refuse to use common sense in addressing incidents.
It wouldn’t surprise me if, in the future dictatorship controlling the USA, that this sort of action would result in the cutting off of the kid’s hand!
Yes, Glenn, that’s what is going to happen…
John, is this guy serious? Do you find him a good representative of “conservative” values? Because, I have to tell you, that sort of paranoia tears down your collective credibility. If the GOP/conservatives become the acknowledged party of wingnut values, then you’ll all sink and have no hope of promoting more serious conservative values…
Dan,
Do you have no concept of hyperbole? Apparently not. I guess that doesn’t surprise me, since you are so ready to call conservatives “wingnuts.”
Yes, and that’s so much worse than comparing liberals to fascists and dictators…
For the record, I’m calling conspiracy nuts who think liberals are wanting to move to a fascist/dictatorial future with no individual liberty… I’m calling THOSE people “wingnuts,” not actual rational conservatives, you know, the type who can reasonably discuss their position and answer direct questions directly.
I’m glad to hear you were engaging in hyperbole, rather than thinking this is what we actually want. Sometimes it’s hard to tell with you folk…
For once, John, we agree. Although, suspensions like this have been occurring long before the Newton shooting. Also, there is a large difference between enforcing tougher regulations on assault weapons, and disarming the American public. The latter will never happen. We are doomed to get nowhere if we can’t compromise; both sides of the political machine are proposing extremes. A middle ground needs to be found.
The thought that “the latter will never happen” is only true if one believes that restraint is common in our legislators and outrage will erupt within the hearts of the people. These things happen incrementally. To think that it will never happen is not logical. The best one can say is that it is less likely than to happen soon if it does happen at all. With states voting for the outrageous, as with homosexual marriage for example, I put nothing out of the realm of possibility. We are fallen creatures and such acquiescence to corruption and bad ideas is quite common these days.
Any weapons is an assault weapon if it is used to assault people. The term is ambiguous enough to be applied to whatever weapon some idiot politician wishes to apply it. It is ambiguous to apply to whatever weapon is used in the next tragedy. With every such law, the American people are disarmed that much more by further reducing the choices available for arming one’s self.
The government isn’t after our weapons – not at all:
http://gunowners.org/a01022013.htm
Glenn beat me to the term, hyperbole, but that was the label I was going to use to describe this tripe of a blog entry. Using this instance to describe anyone and everyone ready and willing to objectively and constructively discuss further gun control measures is just one more in a long line of useless generalizations.