[patriot_wes]

"The only problem with not punishing the kid is that another, less honest and more thuggish kid could use the situation as a cover story: "oh yeah, I found this and brought it to school so I could hand it in...." It's a zero tolerance policy for a reason, and all the kid got was detention."

I agree we have to punish kids who make these extreme mistakes such as acting like kids. Sick!

[JohnnyZ]

I agree we have to punish kids who make these extreme mistakes such as acting like kids.

Yeah, they make a mistake (as kids do), you set an appropriate punishment, hopefully they learn their lesson in responsibility. That's how you deal with kids.

Gun safety is serious stuff, and the kid didn't follow procedure. For his safety and the safety of the other kids, the rules were enforced, with leniency given cause he was a good kid.