A 12-year-old student who brought his unloaded gun to a firearms-safety course at his public school was met with a surprise when administrators and instructors intercepted him in enforcement of the district’s new “zero-tolerance policy.”
Nick Ziegeweid had been told to bring his shotgun when he signed up for the class earlier this fall at Winona Middle School in Winona, Minn., the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported. But when he arrived on the first day of the Saturday morning course, Oct. 11, the officials reminded him the year-old policy bars students from carrying guns on school grounds, with no exceptions.
The issue has sparked a heated debate in the Mississippi River town, located in one of many rural communities where the firearms course has been conducted through sponsorship of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Last month, the Winona school board rejected a proposal to make an exception for the course.
“It’s like teaching a math class without a calculator,” Scott Sabotta, the course instructor, told the Minneapolis paper. “The whole point of the class is to save injury or life. In some ways, our hands have been tied with the decision that they made.”
Defending the policy, Steve Kranz, chairman of the school board, said, according to the Star Tribune, “We can’t pretend that guns don’t exist. The question is: Do schools have a role in educating people about firearms?”
The setting for the weekend class is comfortable to the students, some board members say, but supporters of the policy insist school shootings, such as the 1999 Columbine High School attack, provide reason to ban all firearms from school grounds.
“There needs to be some safety zones,” Sue Brown, a school board member, told the paper. “And I think a school district and a school building should be held in higher regard than it is. It’s a difficult climate; it’s a different day and age. Whatever you can do to restrict, restrict.”
Just days before the first class, Superintendent Eric Bartleson notified board members of the conflict with the new policy. He said the course could go on using unloaded firearms brought by the instructors, but the students could not bring their own guns.
However, backers of the course argue “hands-on” training is the best way to teach gun safety and ensure the firearms owned by the students are safe, the Star Tribune reported.
“Every gun is a little different, and they should be familiar with it,” said Sabotta. “The last thing I want to see is them going out without having a clue on what they are handling.”
Board member Peterson argued, according to the Minneapolis daily, “There is not a kid in this country that doesn’t know how to shoot a gun.”
“They’ve seen it on TV and in movies thousands and thousands of times,” he said. “We’re not teaching shooting. We’re teaching safe handling of firearms.”
Some board members have suggested moving the course off school grounds, but Peterson says that would require a fee the cash-strapped district cannot afford.
“What is the district’s responsibility?” he asked, the Star Tribune reported. “To provide meaningful education to the community. And this, I think, is a very useful and valuable part of providing education in the community.”
