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thedrifter
02-26-09, 06:55 AM
Mock-weapons bill clears panel
Young Marine leader urges more leeway for schools
By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 26, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

Chris Proctor never thought to caution the Douglas County Young Marine troop he commands to think twice before bringing mock guns used for drill-team practice onto school grounds.

He told state lawmakers Wednesday that he never imagined that his top commander, Marie Morrow, would be expelled from school when fake, wooden rifles were found stored in her Dodge Durango parked at Cherokee Trail High School.

"We never thought a mock drill-team rifle would be considered a weapon," he said. "It's unfair that the current law groups good kids like Marie into the same class with those of criminal intent. That needs to change."

Proctor was among a dozen people who testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday on behalf of a measure that would make it no longer mandatory for schools to automatically expel students for having a facsimile weapon on school grounds when it is clear that the student meant no harm.

After three hours of emotional testimony, the committee voted unanimously to move Senate Bill 297 to the full Senate for consideration, arguing that strict state laws prevent schools from using common sense in situations such as Morrow's.

"We're not trying to take out grounds for expulsion if someone is brandishing a weapon," said Sen. Kevin Lundberg, R-Berthoud. "We're trying to add a measure of common sense, given certain circumstances."

Morrow, commander of the Douglas County Young Marines drill team, kept the fake rifles in her truck because her drill team is preparing for an April 18 competition at the Air Force Academy.

The 17-year-old senior returned to school Feb. 20, after a six-day suspension from Cherokee Trail High School in Aurora after other students reported seeing the rifles in her car.

Morrow, who testified before the committee Wednesday, ran afoul of a zero-tolerance state law that requires expulsion of any student seen with a "dangerous weapon" on school grounds without permission.

Under the law, dangerous weapons include facsimiles that could be mistaken for real ones.

"I know I made a mistake on my part," said Morrow, who said she fears that the stain on her record could hurt her future. "But I think the punishment was severe. I don't want this to happen to other kids."

Cherry Creek School District Superintendent Mary Chesley defended the district's actions, saying that the strict laws are meant to keep children safe in an era when schools have become targets of violence.

Ellie