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Old February 5, 2009, 01:32 PM   #1
lg_mouth
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Suspended for gun photo

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,488567,00.html

Not exactly sure how legal this is, but it seems like it shouldn't be legal at all.

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Old February 5, 2009, 01:38 PM   #2
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What shouldn't be legal? Her being on administrative leave or her pointing the gun at the camera?

That's the joys and downfalls of facebook. I have my facebook set on private so, unless you're my friend, you can't see it. Some of my professors are my facebook friends, but you gotta watch what you put on those things because you never know who might see it or how they'll react.
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Old February 5, 2009, 02:01 PM   #3
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Stupid, but not illegal

It may be poor judgement to point a gun at a camera, but being put on leave over that should be illegal. It is a non school website, so they have no jurisdiction over it.

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Old February 5, 2009, 02:23 PM   #4
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This is really stupid. She should sue. I hate when people sue over silly things but something has to be done.
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Old February 5, 2009, 02:25 PM   #5
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I can't find the pic. Maybe I am blind.
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Old February 5, 2009, 02:33 PM   #6
bigrebnc1861
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OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is stupid. Don't people have better things to do then turn people in because they had a gun in a picture?
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Old February 5, 2009, 05:16 PM   #7
NAKing
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OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is stupid. Don't people have better things to do then turn people in because they had a gun in a picture?
No, no, no. You don't understand. Having guns is a sure sign of mental illness and depravity. We can't have our children exposed to sick people like this, can we? Do you hate children?

Seriously though. Was it a good idea? Probably not. Fire somebody over it? Not if that was the only "run-in" with this teacher.

Last edited by NAKing; February 5, 2009 at 05:24 PM.
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Old February 5, 2009, 05:23 PM   #8
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Sad that school administrators don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to busy body parents that have nothing better to do than being up nonsense like this. Did the teacher use 'good sense'? Probably not, but suspension seems quite severe - and isn't there something in the Constitution that suggest we have free speech??
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Old February 5, 2009, 05:32 PM   #9
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Lawyer up.
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Old February 5, 2009, 06:12 PM   #10
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I would think it depends on how many other photos the person has on their page. If it's the primary photo or the only photo...well maybe. But if it's one of 3 or more photos of them doing different things, then it's stupid to complain. Some people aren't happy unless they make trouble for other people.
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Old February 5, 2009, 07:50 PM   #11
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The teacher will probably end up with a few paid days off, but should pray that the school district is stupid enough to fire her. Even a mediocre civil rights attorney could win a dismissal case.
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Old February 5, 2009, 08:00 PM   #12
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The problem I see is..

He could have used a tripod for the shot and then the camera was only pointed at a camera, so who cares!!
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Old February 6, 2009, 02:04 PM   #13
goodspeed(TPF)
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Dos anyone have a link to the PIC?
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Old February 6, 2009, 02:07 PM   #14
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Probably been removed

I am assuming with the media attention, it has been removed.

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Old February 6, 2009, 02:09 PM   #15
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Go here and read the story and watch the accompanying video.

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9781795

Listen to the panic. See the exaggeration and behold the panting and gasping for air.

These school administrators should all be fired and their salaries used for something useful, instead.

This teacher should sue the Hell out of all involved.
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Old February 6, 2009, 02:27 PM   #16
Glenn E. Meyer
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Rather than ranting - what is the relevant civil rights issue?

It seems to me that she is engaging in free speech as she is presenting herself engaging in a legal activity (unless there is something in the picture, we don't know about).

Were does an employer have the right to engage in a job sanction for legally expressing yourself in a manner not related to the employer? If you got on the tube and said your company stinks and don't go there - I could see that.

Is it that there was a gun and this implies a lack of moral fiber. That is a stretch. Sometimes teachers get canned for naked postings.

Do employers have complete control over you (the dreaded carry in your car - it's their property, get another job debate!!). I seem to recall in our debates about carry at the work place, the Antediluvian position that you should bend over for the employer even when they violate basic rights.

The teacher in question should contact appropriate attorneys - NRA, ACLU - or employment law specialist.
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Old February 6, 2009, 02:31 PM   #17
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I bet if she was dressed as a Cowgirl with a 6 shooter they would't of done anything.
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Old February 6, 2009, 02:37 PM   #18
possum
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Exactly.

She's done nothing wrong.

She's done nothing illegal, or even remotely illegal.

School administrators (whose salaries come from TAXES) have decided that a photo she put up of herself on a separate web site, that had nothing to do with the school, was "distasteful" enough for them to suspend her from her job pending an investigation.

Suspend her from her job..........suspend.

Now, just posing a question.

Let's say that some teacher her had posted a pic of herself on Facebook hugging her domestic partner Joan.

And that said teacher's administrators had found the photo "distasteful" and had suspended her from her job.

What do you think the gay rights community would be doing?

There would be outcry. Legions of lawyers would descend upon the administrators like meat-starved legal werewolves.

This situation should be addressed in the same way.

Gun rights folks should descend upon this situation in droves. Lawyers ought to be lining up. These administrators should be hounded and humiliated at every single chance. Sue. Sue. Sue. Sue. Sue until there's no blood left and then sue some more.

Pull out the big legal hammers on this one!

Go to the link I posted above and see the picture for yourself.

Go look at the picture. It's at the news link.

You will see EXACTLY the same sort of picture in most gun catalogs, on most gun-related TV shows, and even throughout the various posters made famous by Oleg Volk.

Go and see. And get mad.

In case you haven't yet, here it is again.

http://www.wkowtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9781795

Upper lefthand corner, "featured video"

Last edited by Al Norris; February 6, 2009 at 07:07 PM. Reason: 2 consecutive posts merged
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Old February 6, 2009, 02:55 PM   #19
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No, no, no. You don't understand. Having guns is a sure sign of mental illness and depravity. We can't have our children exposed to sick people like this, can we? Do you hate children?
Yes send these poor sick people to me Dr. Magnum.
After several sessions with my 44 assistants we should be able to cure this poor individual of even caring what people think of them and guns.

This is BS, what you do at home should not reflect upon your ability to preform the job you are trained to do. Just another example of over reactive A-holes
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Old February 6, 2009, 03:29 PM   #20
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She has an awesome civil rights suit and the district is going to wind up paying up.
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Old February 6, 2009, 05:55 PM   #21
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Looks a lot more like a shotgun than a rifle to me.

I can't remember the last time I had a picture of myself where I wasn't shooting.
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Old February 6, 2009, 07:23 PM   #22
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Here's her defense ...

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Old February 7, 2009, 02:40 PM   #23
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I had this photo as my Facebook profile-picture and i am not suspended.







And i am a preschool teacher by the way.


EDIT: Image rezizeing.
Attached Images
File Type: jpg gbnzfgn 2.JPG (53.3 KB, 920 views)
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Old February 7, 2009, 10:34 PM   #24
BillCA
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Were does an employer have the right to engage in a job sanction for legally expressing yourself in a manner not related to the employer? If you got on the tube and said your company stinks and don't go there - I could see that.
Not quite the same in a lot of states. Most teachers are employed under the terms of some "labor contract" negotiated by a teacher's union. In many states, your employment is "at will" and there is no legal contract or binding agreement. As such, if you work for a company and for some reason appear "in public" in a manner which could or does embarass the company, your job is toast. If you did commercials for Ford claiming that you're a "proud Ford owner" but your Facebook page shows you driving a BMW or (perhaps worse) displaying your "pride & joy" is a 2007 Corvette, you could expect Ford to fire you.

Today, when you're seeking a job, many companies will simply "Google" your name to see what pops up and if it is related to you. And they use various forms of your name too (e.g. Searching Elizabeth, Liz, Betty, Beth, etc.). If you've posted anything to the web (with your real name) it might come back to haunt you.

At what point it becomes censorship or infringing on your 1st Amendment rights is debateable. I don't think many parents would be accepting of a teacher who's Facebook page shows her in wet T-shirt contests or moonlighting as a stripper. And just because you have "free speech" does not mean you're immune from the consequences of that right.
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Old February 7, 2009, 10:40 PM   #25
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I said it earlier and I'll say it again... you gotta watch what you post on things like that if your profile is public because you never know what kinds of people might do or how they will react...

That being said, unless she's seen breaking the law, there's no harm in it in my mind... My facebook profile pic was me chugging a beer when I was only 19... nobody cared, or questioned how I got home that night... Just because it's a teacher makes no difference. Teachers have lives, too...
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