It seems that it is getting more and more difficult for the school districts that want to teach rather than indoctrinate. In IL the state control of the curriculum makes it difficult to actually teach. In the case of this story it stands out that there was a class discussion where a question was put to the girl about murdering classmates… no one had a problem with that! But as soon as the girl answered using a gesture that was interpreted to be a gun the handcuffs came out and felony charges were filed against her. Just to underline the point that they are targeting guns, think about the last time you heard of a kid being arrested for any other type of gesture such as a dragging a finger across a throat like a knife?
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Overland Park Kansas is a location for a lot of software companies (Healthcare), so they are likely to lean a little more liberal than the rural communities of Kansas.
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I see. Is that around a Wichita, KS
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It is just south of Kansas City. Wichita is a ways south west of Overland Park. I few years ago Google put in high speed internet in the KC area and a lot of IT companies sprang up in the area, there were a few such as Matcon and Cerner in the area already.
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Hmmm… what if that girl was just trying to include deaf students when she answered the question? 
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Meanwhile, next door in Missouri…
What a difference a state line makes.
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Communicating death threat verbally or by using sign language can get one in lots of trouble in any state.
This case isn’t about the finger gun it is about the intent and the message it sent.
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This is a 12 year old child who communicated a threat with a finger… how is that felony territory?
Not seeing very many permutations where that could be an appropriately proportional response.
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12yo’s have committed some of the most horrific crimes you can name.
The way it’s described in the article she was intentionally communicating a death threat. Call me crazy but I’m going to wait for more details before getting too worked up about her arrest.
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Yep. But pointing her finger gun wasn’t one of them.
I’m sure there’s details we don’t know. I’m also sure we’ve lost our collective minds on how we respond to anything involving “guns”.
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Sounds as ridiculous as the ok sign being a sign of white supremacy
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It sounds like this was a in class discussion and the girl was asked a hypothetical question. It is also interesting to note she would have been in less trouble if she had actually brought a real gun to school… https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/crime/article235035657.html
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Just read the story as it’s written. Making a finger gun is nothing until you point it at someone and then it’s a death threat.
They’ll have to prove intent to make any charge stick but if that was her intent it’s the appropriate charge.
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I’m not getting that from the original story, do you have another source?
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Personally I’d like to know more about this and under what context the teacher thought it was appropriate and allowable.
A person familiar with a more detailed incident report spoke to The Star on condition of anonymity. The person said that during a class discussion, another student asked the girl, if she could kill five people in the class, who would they be? In response, the girl allegedly pointed her finger pistol — like the ones many children use playing cops and robbers.
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Yep, that is what I saw in the story as well. Seems like if the discussion in class was hypothetical then her answer deserves to be treated as hypothetical as well.
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So what’s the next step in this 11 or 12 year old little girls Hardcore criminal road to a lifelong crime spree?
I guess this is the next Thelma and Louise combo
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@Greg1 - that’s how I read it too.
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I don’t believe that that conversation went that way, Eleven year olds, don’t form what if questions such as that. I mean I believe Charles account of the story @WildRose I just don’t believe it went that way by the Thelma and Louise
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