I am writing in regard to the story in the Jan. 6 Salisbury Post titled “Stupid mistake: School’s zero-tolerance policy on guns enforced: ”

I agree that the young man in question made a mistake, but I think the bigger mistake is the reliance of the school system on zero-tolerance policies. These allow the principal or school board to shrug their shoulders and say “that’s policy” instead of having to take the time and effort to judge each infraction on an individual basis.

Austin Moore did not bring the firearms to school with any intent to cause harm or damage but simply because he forgot to take them from his car. Zero-tolerance policies have resulted in students who bring aspirin to school being expelled, and now, unfortunately, it looks like these idiotic policies have another victim in Austin Tyler Moore.

Hopefully, Superintendent Dr. Judy Grissom will use some good old-fashioned common sense and reduce this punishment to fit the “crime” involved. Maybe then something will be done about doing away with zero-tolerance policies altogether. After all, isn’t a little tolerance now and then a good thing?

— Todd Morgan

Faith