“Taiwan’s military is considering increasing the frequency of rifle shooting practice for high-school students as part of a push to implement its all-out national defense policy,” chinapost.com.tw reports. “We are hoping that the Ministry of Education (MOE) can increase the frequency of rifle shooting practice from once in three years to once every year,” General Chen Hsiao-ming of the Ministry of National Defense told a legislative session.” Meanwhile, fayobserver.com reveals a different scene in Sampson County, North Carolina . . .
School personnel were checking student vehicles about 1:50 p.m. when the Remington 7400 rifle was seen in [17-year-old Jason Derrick] Jackson’s unlocked vehicle, said Lt. M.D. Smith, a Sheriff’s Office spokesman.
Deputies searched the vehicle and found a Stoeger P-350 12-gauge pump-action shotgun, a Charles Daly 12-gauge shotgun and rounds of ammunition, an incident report said.
It’s believed the weapons were used for hunting and Jackson forgot to take them out of the vehicle, Smith said. There was no indication of criminal intent, he said.
Bail for Jackson, who was arrested about 3:45 p.m., was set at $5,000.
By law, any student bringing a firearm onto school property must be suspended for 365 days, according to the Sampson County Board of Education’s policy manual.
I imagine the Taiwanese authorities would impose an equally severe penalty on any student who possessed a firearm without official permission.
Even so, the Sampson BOE’s zero-tolerance approach to Mr. Jackson’s firearms forgetfulness is a long way from North Carolina gun culture 1.0. A change that’s sure to leave Mr. Jackson with a permanent blot on his record and no small amount of personal trauma. And our armed forces with one less potential rifleman.