I feel for the family of the young man that was expelled from West Rowan recently. But I feel like the punishment was just.

The Code of Conduct for the school system clearly states that firearms are not allowed on school property. PERIOD. There is no gray area in this rule. It also states what the punishment will be. A 365-day expulsion from school. The rules must apply to everyone, not just “bad” kids. It was not too many years ago that there were incidents at other schools that precipitated the school board adopting this rule.

I do feel for this young man. A stupid mistake has cost him dearly. But others have made stupid mistakes and had to pay the price. I am an avid believer in the Second Amendment. But with this right comes major responsiblities. The first of which is to secure your weapons while not using them. He didn’t. He forgot to take his guns out of his vehicles.

What if someone else had seen these weapons and stolen them? What if these weapons had been used in a crime that hurt someone? I understand people being very upset about this. But the rules (just as many laws) clearly state what the punishment will be. The student and parents (and, yes, I am a parent of a student at West Rowan) did sign the Code of Conduct at the beginning of the year. It was everyone’s job to make sure that this rule was not broken. Unfortunately, he broke it. I wish the young man the best. Life’s lessons are learned tough. And he has learned a very hard one.

— Bruce L South

Salisbury