A Colorado teen has been told he cannot return to school until authorities hold a "threat assessment hearing" after he went target shooting with his mother. Nate Evans, a junior at Loveland High School in Loveland, Colorado actually got a visit from police after he posted video of his plinking with his mom Justine according to the Colorado 2nd Amendment group
Rally For Our Rights.
A report had come in to the police department about the video and they were told Nate was a threat. After showing the videos to the police officers and explaining that they'd simply gone on a mother-son outing to train with their legally owned firearms, the police stated that they had done nothing illegal and were well within their rights. They also determined Nate was not a threat to himself or anyone else, and went on their way.
But it wasn't over.
Unfortunately, even after police determined that there was nothing nefarious about a mom taking her son out for some firearms training,
the school district wasn't convinced.
Justine immediately contacted the school assuming she could easily clear things up, especially since the police had already assessed the situation and realized no one had done anything wrong or made any threats. She was wrong. The school not only refused to provide her with more information about the "threat", but they refused to provide Nate with schoolwork so he doesn't get behind. A "threat assessment hearing" has been scheduled for Thursday morning at 10am at the school admin building where Justine will be allowed to defend her son against SEVEN school officials who will be in attendance to, as she was told, "make their case". Make their case of what? That Nate's outing with his mother to train with her firearms somehow makes him a danger to the school?
This is insane, but it's also a pretty clear abuse of the program "Safe 2 Tell", which is designed to allow students to report potential threats to school safety. As Lesley Hollywood with Rally for Our Rights points out, the way the program currently works almost invites abuse.
I spoke with Justine, as well as two different attorneys who specialize in Second Amendment issues. The bottom line is the school is legally within their rights at this time. According to the attorneys, the school has a protocol that must be followed when a report of a threat comes in through Safe 2 Tell or other means, even if the report is completely false - and there is nothing parents or students can legally do about it, even with a lawyer. If the student is charged or further action is taken, that changes. This is why students have dubbed Safe 2 Tell as "Safe 2 Swat", referencing the act of "swatting", a criminal harassment tactic of deceiving an emergency service into sending a police and emergency service response team to another person's address.
Hopefully after today's hearing Nate will be allowed back in school, he and his mom will receive an apology from the school district, and nothing like this will ever happen again. I'm guessing only one of those three things is really likely to happen, however. There will likely be no apology, and I'm almost certain that situations like this will come up again. Officials in Colorado need to take a serious look at the Safe 2 Tell protocols and make some significant changes to ensure that kids like Nate and parents like Justine don't have to deal with bureaucratic baloney like this in the future.
Reader Comments
I laugh at these idiots supporting all this fascism who are stupidly not paying attention to the cost this is having to their net worth. Real estate has collapsed in most of these back water places, and while the criminals in Denver may dictate like micro-royals, the people are just moving away and their cities are crumbling in to shit holes and broken dreams.
A) Sue them for millions; and,
B) Sew them into a weighted sail, and dump 'em over the Mariannas Trench.
R.C.
P.s., Playing Grammar GestaPoPo & Jesting.
NRN
RC
Everyone wanted to 'hold' it; no one got to except other shooters I personally knew; and only then out in the parking when I said, this is a pain in the ass and took it back to the trunk of my car. I then parked it in a constantly visible place.
R.C.
R.C.
-Rifle Club and Rifle P.E. CLASS
From Jr. High, (7th-8th Grade( AND HS (8th - 12th grade?)? (Or was that a Southern Thing?)
T'was no big thing. If folks wish to murder; it's easier to get close with a kinife, anyway.
An armed society is a polite society. (A study should be done on CCW states, and violent crime* rates in their jurisdictions, paying particularly close attention to the number of armed B&E into OCCUPIED dwellings - such as escalated at a rate of 100% per annum? after they disarmed y'all (up for correctiion with VALID stats) -; along with typical, 'Pulp Fiction'-type robberies. The results would be startling.
R.C. RC
We were taught how to strip and clean and service a number of different actions of gun. It was there that I experienced my first semi-automatic Ruger rim fire, and from then on I was hooked. I was able to transfer that knowledge to my sons many years later and we have had many happy time shooting in the mountains and woods.
Thanks for the memories
I first shot a rifle at age 5 out in the Mojave desert. Once in Cocoa, on Friday or Saturday sundown/twighlights, we'd go out to a place past the city line, where guys my dad's age would bring their sons out, drink a few beers/water/pepsis, and shoot up a high sand dune out of the city. Firearm discipline was as strict any firing range and one guy would be desinated the Firing Range 'Ranger' etc.
Sometimes deputies would drop by, sometimes give helpful advice, or just wave and keep on driving past. That was from around age 8 to 14 here in Cocoa.
In our family, the ONLY thing that anyone ever could get spanked for was to touch or even approach the closets where we knew our long arms were. We were allowed - if it ever happened - to shoot any firearned intruders without notice or to give a quick warning to apparently unarmed intruder and if they don't follow orders, shoot them. It was recommended that we use our .410 shotgun, etc. (Never had to, though my big brother got spanked for violating that first rule.)
In my upbringing (four kids) there were only two or three spankings ever. That gave them a real fearful aspect and due and proper respect. God, I miss America!!!
R.C.
More stories the better!
R.C.
[Link]
For us, that period from 7th Grade through 12th grade was from 8/1971-6/1977. (Same general era as Baybars, above.)
As ye know; a gun is just a tool. But like guitars, you appreciate their workmanship and aesthetics.
R.C.
" A report had come in to the police department about the video and they were told Nate was a threat. After showing the videos to the police officers and explaining that they'd simply gone on a mother-son outing to train with their legally owned firearms, the police stated that they had done nothing illegal and were well within their rights. They also determined Nate was not a threat to himself or anyone else , and went on their way. "
R.C.
Nothing could be surprising at this point.
R.C.
What good is a school going to do for a kid which has an administration as bent out of shape as that? He has a chance of not growing up to be a communist now.