Teachers, guns and zero-tolerance

Josey1

Teachers, guns and zero-toleranceMichelle Malkin When the new school year begins, Deena Esteban will not be among the legions of educators welcoming students back to class. That's because Mrs. Esteban, a 43-year-old art teacher in Prince William County, Va., lost the job she loved after being convicted of a felony last fall. Her crime? Bringing a gun to school. Mrs. Esteban's story is a textbook case of zero-tolerance tyranny. Teachers are the forgotten casualties of the education establishment's absolutist war on guns. Mrs. Esteban had never been in trouble with the law. The married mother of two owned a .38-caliber revolver for self-defense and like millions of Americans across the country held a valid, concealed-weapons permit. She carried the gun when she went out alone, mostly on errands. One fateful night last spring, she put the gun in her handbag before going out to entertain her visiting parents. The next morning, she brought the bag to school not realizing the firearm was still in it, she says. When she left the bag unattended for a short period in her classroom, a colleague opened it and found the gun. No one was hurt. It was an unfortunate accident. Mrs. Esteban says she would never do anything deliberately to put children in harm's way. She was willing to accept a reasonable punishment for her mistake. Virginia makes it a misdemeanor to leave a loaded, unsecured firearm in a manner that endangers children. Mrs. Esteban offered to plead guilty to that offense. But it wasn't enough for local prosecutors bent on "sending a message." Despite acknowledging that Mrs. Esteban showed no criminal intent, government lawyers threw the book at her. They charged Mrs. Esteban with a felony count of possessing a gun on school grounds. A jury convicted her last October, imposing a $2,500 fine and 12-month jail sentence. A judge suspended the prison term and slightly reduced the fine in January, but the incident continues to wreak havoc on the Esteban family. Mrs. Esteban's former colleagues ostracized her, and she has been unemployed since her arrest and conviction, which is headed to an appeals court next month. "No one wants to hire you when you have to check the box on the form that says, 'Yes, I have been convicted of a felony,' " Mrs. Esteban notes sadly. "People think I'm some kind of dirtbag." This overzealous gun-control policy has also robbed Mrs. Esteban of her privacy and personal dignity. She cannot travel out of state without permission. Her DNA is registered in a state database. And the police released her home address, phone number and mug shot to the media. Mrs. Esteban's husband, Philip, now works two jobs to support the family and help cover their legal bills. He believes this was "clearly a political prosecution. . . . It's bizarre beyond comprehension that you can be convicted of merely possessing something that's constitutionally protected." Mrs. Esteban's prosecution is not unique. More than 30 states criminalize possession of firearms on school grounds. Just last week, Renee Rudenick, a special education instructor in Kent, Wash., was put on trial for accidentally taking to school a gun that she had obtained after suffering domestic abuse. Like Mrs. Esteban, Mrs. Rudenick a 30-year veteran teacher was a licensed, legal concealed-weapons permit holder. Fortunately, a jury refused to convict her. But she, too, lost her job. Now, compare the teachers' plights with that of Albert McCarthy, a Chester County, Pa., police chief who accidentally left his Glock semi-automatic on an elementary school bathroom windowsill this spring during a break from a drug education lecture. His punishment? A four-day suspension without pay. Law-enforcement officials are exempt from prosecution for making mistakes, but teachers licensed to carry concealed weapons are not. Why? To protect the children, society has deemed that teachers must not be allowed to protect themselves in their workplace. The classroom has become a Second Amendment-free zone. So much for "sensible" gun control.http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20010906-2105381.htm

kimberkid

The question here is ... what would have happened on that fateful day if there had been a school shooting and she used that weapon to stop the shooter (by what ever means necessary) ... would she still have lost her job and drug through the muck even though she protected children with it? ... hard to say ...

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GUN CONTROL: If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention!kimberkid@gunbroker.zzn.com

mudge

My wife teaches in Virginia and has a CCW permit. She feared some of the little "miscreants" so much that when she taught at a Jr. High a few years ago, she kept both doors to her room locked during classes and arranged the room so she could see both doors and her back was to a corner. Believe it or not, her philosophy is: Everyone who CAN carry, SHOULD carry.Mudge

salzo

The real question, is what would have happend if a child got their hand on the irresponsible gun owners firearm, and wound up killin somebody? You want to carry, you should obey some commonsense rules. Do not leave your gun unattended where children are around.If you choose to carry, know where your gun is at all times, and make sure nobody can get their hands on it. I understand it was an accident, but even accidents and mistakes have consequences. This gun owner was irresponsible, and should suffer some type of punishment.

dakotashooter2

What happened to the co-worker who rifled through her purse and found the gun?

salzo

Yeah-What the heck was her coworker going through her purse for?

joe4348

Reading some of the posts it is clear that we have lost many of our freedoms. 40 years ago we would bring our guns to school (in the car) and go hunting and shooting afterwards. The problem never has been the gun but a post christian nation and fear generated by liberals.

Patrick Odle

I took my single shot 22 cal the 3 years Iwas in elementary school. I would stand it behind the old pot bellied stove in my home room and if I happened to see some thing edible on the way home in season or not I usually took same home with me. my gun veryseldom stood alone in the conner,was often accompanied by similar 22s or a single or sometimes a double shotgun. If for some reason it became necessary to bloody someones nose at recess or lunch there was no thought of the guns in the conner. Now tell me are kids smarter today or dumber.Or have the older ones not taken the time with them that was taken with us to insure that we did the right thing. Our world is filled to the brim with television orphans today and its not the kids fault. If that sorry chuck shulmer and ted kennedy had parents like mine do you think for an instant the would look as harshly at honest gun owners. Most of us won't be here thank GOD, but just think what life will be like when this GOD-less Parent-less purposely mis-guided takes over some 25 to 40 years from now. lets see a show of hands who wants to still be alive when this happens.

leeblackman

Zero-tolerance sounds like something Hilter would have made up. Don't those people know that this country was built on tolerance. Thats why people moved from england and other un-tolerant countries. I think zero-tolerance by any means is closed minded and ignorant. Hell while there at it why don't they just stop tolerating difference at all. Sorry but there's a zero-tolerance law, you cant paint you house a different color than anyone elses or you will be severly punished. That sounds good huh guys. Yea right! My A**.

BlueTic

She made a mistake - as a CCW permit holder she should know at all times where her weapons are, but is this a felony offense?Ted Kennedys vehicles have killed more people than my guns!!!!!!

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IF YOU DON'T LIKE MY RIGHTS - GET OUT OF MY COUNTRY

competentone

It is interesting to hear the criticism directed toward Ms. Esteban from some members here....and a bit disconcerting.Laws prohibiting carry into schools are meant to stop people from intentionally bringing weapons onto the school grounds; the act described here would appear to be accidental.Accidents with firearms are not good, but who here has never had an "accident" involving a firearm? If you use firearms in your work, or if they're a hobby you spend significant time with, I'm sure there are errors you've made. I've dropped firearms; I've found the chamber loaded when I had expected it to be unloaded; I've forgottenly left a firearm in a vehicle when I meant to bring it inside--none of these "accidents" have resulted in any injury--that's because I follow good safety rules (safety is a matter of redundency; if one thing goes wrong, nothing catastrophic happens, since other measures are in place which keep the overall situation "safe").Are the members critcal of Ms. Esteban expecting infalliblity for firearm owners? If you are, then you've given the "gun grabbers" all the firepower they need; their "zero tolerance" is an attempt to require gun owners to have to meet some type of unhuman, unerring, impossible standard.Accidents will occur, even for the careful, extremely safety-concious firearm owners among us. Taking one accident and 'criminalizing" it (literally in this case); does nothing but add to the hysterics "those seeking to destroy the Second Amendment" have created.