Should Wake County students who are members of a school-approved club be allowed to participate in a shooting tournament sponsored by a state agency and supervised by adults?
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Should students be allowed to shoot?
Submitted by mwilliam on April 1, 2008 - 1:04pm.
N&O | schools & education
High School Shotgun Athletes
Submitted by Marvin (not verified) on April 10, 2008 - 7:49am.
I feel great empathy for Mr. Lumley and his family. Hours of training for this major tournament have been for naught. I hope the Wake County School Board and the East Wake County High School will reconsider their decision to preclude the team from competing with their pears in the future.
The administration has obviously never been to a shooting competition. Shooting sports develop core principles in the young athletes. Competition teaches self discipline and respect of others. Leadership, team sprit, personal accountability for ones own actions are integral aspects needed in society. Shooting sports foster these and other outstanding traits in young athletes.
The administration needs to look into the decision they have made. Shotgun sports are ACUI collegiate and Olympic sports. Athletes in college have the opportunity to participate in collegiate national championships and receive All-American awards as any other recognized college sport.
I have walked in your shoes young man. As a member of the US Shooting Team the administration precluded US athletes from participation in the Moscow Olympics in 1980. I hope you and the community will exercise their voice at the next school board election. While outrage and rhetoric will abound your vote will count the most!
Shooting Sports in School
Submitted by rdbrown on April 9, 2008 - 7:19am.
I am not a "gun nut" or even a member of the NRA. But I do enjoy hunting, and I was a member of a Jr. High School rifle team many years ago. If the school bans students from participatiing in off-campus shooting competitions, do they also ban Boy Scouts from getting their Rifle, Shotgun, Muzzeloader or Archery Merit Badges? The school needs to rethink their policy.
Olympic Sport Banned in Wake County
Submitted by Dennis (not verified) on April 9, 2008 - 7:33am.
Shooting & The Olympic Program
At the 2008 Olympic Games there are 15 shooting events: six for women and nine for men. The athletes are divided into shotgun, rifle and pistol disciplines.
Robert Lumley and his teammates from East Wake High School were recently banned from a statewide shooting tournament by their principal Sebastian Shipp and area superintendent Danny Barnes. This decision was even worse than banning garbage disposals. The following statement was said about the disposal ban: "It was a boneheaded mistake," Councilman Rodger Koopman said of the ban and his initial support for it.
On the bonehead meter, the decision to stop these young people from competing in a shooting competition goes much higher than the disposal fiasco. Competition in shooting events is a part of the Olympics and has been for almost 100 years; yet, our youth in Wake County are banned from such competition.
Unfortunately for these individuals, the disposal ban and the shooting ban have something in common: knee-jerk reactions without all the facts on the table. Just like many other sports, shooting competition is beneficial to our young people. It teaches teamwork. The students compete individually, but all the scores are totaled for a final score. It also teaches that if one is to be successful they must work hard. It’s a competition and if an individual is to win, they must put in a lot of effort. Another beneficial part of the competition is the knowledge of firearms. These young people are taught gun safety from day one. Through daily practice and competition, they understand the potential for harm and earn a respect for guns.
The one thing that bothers me most about the competition ban is the “guilt by association” mentality displayed by the school leadership. Just because these young people were shooting guns, they have been put in the same category as the murderers of Eve Carson. My nephew was a member of his shooting team in Forsyth County, and almost without exception, these young people were the exact opposite of the youth that abuses guns. To associate these outstanding young people with those that are a blight on society is completely ridiculous. Instead of banning shooting competition, Wake County schools should be encouraging more schools to have a team. It is not the gun that pulls the trigger, but an individual. The more of our youth that can be taught the proper respect and use of guns will lead to a safer, not more dangerous, society.
Shooting & The Olympic Program
Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on April 10, 2008 - 3:18pm.
I agree with you. The marksmanship program has nothing to do with gun violence. Punish the violators and not the law- abiding. What a better way for the youth to learn the proper way. It's just the sign of the Anti's and their narrow minding way. I guess if we all lived in our own bubbles, no one can do harm. That's where this nation is heading. We got so far from our roots of being upstanding neighbors and citizens that we have argued for the rights of idiots over law-abiding people. Times have certainly changed...
High School Markenship Program
Submitted by John B. Hagler (not verified) on April 18, 2008 - 9:15pm.
In case you missed it, a letter I wrote was published in The People`s Forum on Tuesday April 15 that they entitled RIDING SHOTGUN (which to my way of thinking made no sense) and it said: Your April 9 article "Dueling priorties" reminded me how times have changed. As a preteen living up in the mountains, I learned gun safety at the hands of my father. On those early hunting expeditions I was not allowed to carry a gun - only to stay quiet, close and observe. I was allowed to carry a shotgun when I became 13 and continued to hunt with my father and some of his friends. Then we moved to Carthage which is the county seat of Moore County. I hunted and fished and apparently acquired a reputation as a sportsman. On occasion when in high school, I received invitations to spend Friday nights in the homes of a couple classmates in order that we could hunt on Saturdays. I`d go to our principle ahead of time and inform him that I`d be bringing to his office my hunting clothes, gun and shells on Friday morning and pick them up when school let out. I then rode the school bus to where my friends lived out on Deep River, and no one thought a thing about it.
Shooting Sports in School
Submitted by vksauls (not verified) on April 9, 2008 - 7:44am.
Its a shame that idots ruin events for kids. Having these events monitored and run by adults trained in proper gun management is the best thing for these kids...THEY LEARN THE PROPER WAY TO HANDLE GUNS...
I myself take my son and his friends shooting. My focus is for the kids to properly handle guns and enjoy shooting in a safe enviroment. I have seen the joy they get from shooting and I know the joy I get knowing they know how to properly handle and enjoy guns.
They are not killing animals or people but the school system is killing them.
Ironic
I agree
Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on April 9, 2008 - 10:13pm.
I agree that when responsible adults teach kids the right way to use guns, society as a whole benefits. The kids learn a great thing, and they feel a great sense of accomplishment, the same way I did when I first learned how to use a gun. One of the the great things about america is that we have the right to bear arms, and as long as responsible adults are given the chance to teach the youth of this country to use guns properly, our country will benfit from their teachings.
shooting competition
Submitted by Visitor (not verified) on April 9, 2008 - 8:12am.
This is another case of stupidity by administrators. Does anyone really think competing in a responsible, supervised activity will lead students to violence? On the other hand, the thugs who killed the SGA president at Carolina, and a very bright grad student had guns. Do you think they got'em at school from the shooting team? Why not concentrate on punishing criminals, not law-abiding students.
I am an avid hunter, I enjoy
Submitted by Josh (not verified) on April 9, 2008 - 8:15am.
I am an avid hunter, I enjoy shooting sports why can't these kids? I went to wake county public school and I must say after all this I will never never send any of my children to a wake county school. These kids should take the school and WCPSS to court and sue them for every nickel they have.All the kids want to do it shoot clay targets, what is the problem with that?It must be all the Liberal leaders of the school system. I say its time to take our schools back and run them how we want our children to learn.Learn the values this country was based upon. did our forefathers fight in vain? If we let this crap slide then Yes they did. let us all raise up and fight for this country and fight to bring this country back the way it was meant to be!! Let us all stop being sheep in the heard following each other off the cliff. For our children's sake for this country's sake...
shooting
Last year at regionals my son got high score in .22 and this year my daughter is on the team. This is a great team sport and I am proud to be involved in this program at North Johnston high school.I am glad my children don't attend this school.