Teacher Fired For Gun In Truck

[The Straight Story]

Teacher Fired For Gun In Truck

BARTOW, Fla. -- A Central Florida teacher has been fired because he kept a handgun in his truck in the school parking lot.

The Polk County school board voted unanimously Tuesday to fire 51-year-old Phillip Bradley.

He taught truck mechanics at the Ridge Career Center in Winter Haven when the 9 mm handgun was found in his truck in the school lot last spring.

A hearing officer had recommended just a 90-day suspension, but school board members said that would have set a bad example for students.

Bradley said he was sorry for his students.

http://www.local6.com/news/15291404/detail.html

[kirby]

1. In my state, guns are not allowed near schools n/t

[DrDan]

2. nor are they here in Florida

This sounds legit, but monthly there is a case of some kid in kindergarten who gets a week suspension over some plastic gun that he had in his backpack.

They have gotten just a tad carried-away with this rule.

I am TOTALLY anti-gun, but we need a little common sense in this rule.

[Swamp Rat]

3. How did they know he had a gun in his vehicle? Was it visible?

Or did someone go into his truck without his permission?

[High Plains]

8. Good question. No answer in the link, either.

Maybe they were doing some drug sweep of the parking lot. That'd be my guess.

[Swamp Rat]

9. Perhaps, but if he had drugs we would know about it, so why did they open his truck

and look inside? I suppose they could have used a dog trained for firearms/bomb sniffing, but that seems rather extreme.

Did I wake up in Stalinst Russia or something? Red China?

[benEzra]

12. The repubs at the Brady Campaign have been pushing for employers to conduct warrantless searches

of employee vehicles periodically. The modus operandi is typically "Open up your vehicle and let us search it, or you're fired." There was a case a couple of years ago in which Weyerhauser conducted a surprise search of every employee vehicle in their open-to-the-public parking lot on the first day of hunting season, and fired anyone who either refused consent to search, or who had a firearm locked away in the vehicle.

It is possible that something similar could have occurred here.

[brentspeak]

16. Funny, I can't find anything on the Brady Campaign's web-site saying anything like that

Sounds like more anti-Brady B.S. from your end.

[benEzra]

24. Here was the report the Bradys generated in the wake of the Weyerhauser firings...

which were based on warrantless "open-the-car-or-you're-fired" searches of employee vehicles on the first day of hunting season.

http://www.bradycampaign.com/xshare/pdf/forced-entry-report.pdf

After the Weyerhauser incident in Oklahoma, gun owners successfully got a law passed to prohibit employers from sweeping parking lots for guns in employee cars, and the Brady Campaign went to court to have the law overturned.

[brentspeak]

25. In other words, you're supporting the NRA's wanting to FORCE private property owners

to allow persons carrying guns onto their (private property owner's) property, while at the same time, mislabeling the Brady position as advocating for warrant-less searches.

Oklahoma's forced entry statue is clearly unconstitutional, but the NRA and its Internet foot-soldiers -- who already claim to speak on behalf of the 2nd Amendment (though they don't) -- support it. What a joke.

Once again, the Brady Campaign is on the right side of the gun issue.

[hogwyld]

20. The Brady's are the boogieman of the gun nutters.

Let there be no limits on who, or where you can have a gun...

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

13. No info, but probably neither ...

Likely scenario: he takes another teacher to lunch, who spills a drink, opens the glovebox to look for kleenex ... Holey Moley!! What is THIS!! Zero Tolerance!!!

[marshall]

15. Gun Sniffing Dogs

When I was teaching they regularly had gun sniffing dogs that were patrolled through the parking lot. I assume that is what this school had.

[proud2BlibKansan]

19. If it is parked on school property,

they have the right to search it.

[TahitiNut]

4. Wow. Imagine what would've happened to him if he were caught smoking on school property!! Hanging?

:smoke:



:hide:

[Dr.Phool]

7. Nah, we're not barbarians.

Maybe 50 laps, 40 lashes, an intervention program, and counseling.

[Dr.Phool]

5. In 2004, they had a bill in the Florida statehouse.

It would have allowed students to bring guns (rifles and shotguns) to school in their cars during hunting season, so they wouldn't have to be inconvenienced by going home to get them and go hunting.

They later tried to amend it to leave the decision up to each indivivual district.

I don't know what happened with it. But, this is Florida. Anything is possible.

[Celeborn Skywalker]

6. I think a suspension would have been enough.

[greenvpi]

10. Why is he not in prison?

For the rest of his life! This is reckless endangerment at its worst. He could have killed dozens of children with that thing.

[benEzra]

11. You're kidding, right? (n/t)

[greenvpi]

27. Kidding? Just today, the result of having a gun at a school...

was shown. What more proof do you need that those people need to go to prison forever?

[Bright Eyes]

14. Unless he had the gun on his person while on school property

suspension would have been enough.

But you raise an interesting point. What would have happened if a student had a gun in his car?

However any prison time is farrrrr too extreme.

[fishwax]

18. prison? for life?

:crazy:

But you were only kidding, right?

Either way, welcome to DU greenvpi :hi:

[DangerDave921]

17. Insane

We have reached a crescendo of fear of guns. Don't people realize that even up to the 1960's, there were gun clubs in high schools, where kids brought guns to school every day.

And when the next crazy kids decide to start shooting, this teacher won't have access to a gun to maybe stop him. Such logic!

[Javaman]

21. They don't say how they knew it was in his car...nt

[MadHound]

22. Good, the last thing that we need is more firearms at school n/t

[jmg257]

23. You break the law you pay the price. I would love to carry when my getting/hanging with my kids at

their schools, but even having a gun in your car on school grounds is against the law here in NY.

Stupid as it may be, and as sucky as it is that the states are forced to go with unconstitutional federal legislation to qualify for federal funding, the law is the law.

[benEzra]

26. The Federal statute exempts those with CHL's...

but even if the teacher in this case had a CHL, employers can demand to search your car for whatever reason they want, and fire you if you refuse, even if the car is located on company property, if you work in an at-will state.