I was looking back through the article and couln't find any mention of any broken laws. Maybe some Colorado lawyer freepers can clue me in as to why the youngsters in detention.
I posted before I finished reading the article. I think the judge's (IMHO tenuous) rationale was that the father's permission as he gave it had limits (no loading, firing, etc.), so he painstakingly parsed the specific acts performed by the kid and concluded that he lacked the father's permission to do what he was photographed doing.
Also, the dad is a wuss for saying there will bever be guns in the house again. Enact bathtub registration and control!!
I think you misstate that. Reading through the article you find acknowledgement that what was done was specifically legal.
If this article is anything remotely like factual, then this judge is simply a loon.