Zero tolerance out of control, as usual.

Question: is this the result of administration unwilling to do any more than follow the letter of the rules to the detriment of the spirit, or is there a potential lawsuit in permitting Nerf weapons on school grounds?

I bet you the authorities are going to go soft on this guy.

Upon reading the article (which loaded hella slow), I put forth the idea that the kids who spotted the toy guns failed to mention that they were toys. Administration freaked.

It's possible that these kids never got toy guns of their own to play with (OH NOES VIOLENT TOYS!), and thus cannot differentiate between obvious toys and actual lead-slingers.

Alternatively, the kids saw an excuse for not having to do any more schoolwork for the rest of the day.

It shoots through schools...

Omaha Public Schools spokeswoman Luanne Nelson commended the children who issued the alert. They spotted something unusual on school grounds and immediately went to adults in the building - just as they have been taught, she said.

that is the scariest part of the article.

Trivia Jockey: I bet you the authorities are going to go soft on this guy.

It's not like they can make anything stick.

Barakku: FFS. Now kids can't even tell the difference between nerf guns and gun guns?

I'm pretty sure that almost all school administrators would have a meltdown if a kid in their school displayed an intimate understanding of firearms and/or small unit tactics. Now - a normal person would think "gee, there's a kid who plays a lot of FPS games." but school administrators would think "OMG! that kid is a f*cking TERRORIST! i'd better report him to homeland security right away!"

this is why I think all school administrators should be forced to take anti-psychotic medication before the start of their shift.

When I was a young lad, I had two toy guns that I really liked playing with. One year, my family was flying down to Florida to visit grandparents. My parents let me pack my own backpack. Guess what I put in there?

This was pre-9/11, so they let my dad take them back up to the ticket counter and check them. My parents did not let me pack myself on the way back.

I remember when I was in high school. There were more guns in students cars than the local PD around hunting season.

When my dad was in high schools, some students used to shoot at the bell on top of the courthouse with their 22s from the school parking lot. (If they missed, the bullets just landed in a field outside of town.) Cop would drive up and tell them to knock it off.

How did we survive those days?

joshthewaster: FishyFred: My parents did not let me pack myself on the way back.

That's good. I don't think a backpack is the best way to transport children.

/what happened with the guns?

They are still floating around the house.

<coolstory>

When I was ~10, me and the neighbor kid would reenact Assault from American Gladiators (the tennis ball cannon one). Except the gladiator got the belt-fed nerf machine gun (mine had a hand crank), and all the various stations were stocked with nerf weapons. Nerf stomp rocket, nerf bow, a couple of nerf pistols. It was amazing.

</coolstory>

Does this mean these kids will never be able to get on a plane with shoes, or underwear for the rest of their lives?

They spotted something unusual on school grounds and immediately went to adults in the building - just as they have been taught