This zero tolerance policy is just a method of indoctrinating young minds against gun ownership in their later years. the motive for this type of indoctrination is obvious. Totalitarians are very vulnerable to armed asymmetric resistance.
The solace I take out of this is that there will be a large amount of these kids will want to have a gun purely and simply because they have been told it is wrong. Youth being youth they will rebel when they can. My belief is that there are always a good amount of young people that can smell the BS of indoctrination. The only problem with that is they initially will not have the due respect and training that a good upbringing with weapons would have given them.