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Kids today have no idea what guns were intended to be used for. It's like sex education where no one can tell you what sex is about.
CONCORD, N.H. — Where other students might pose for their senior yearbook photo with tennis rackets or favorite cars, Blake Douglass (search) wants to be seen with his shotgun.
The 17-year-old senior filed a federal lawsuit to force Londonderry High School (search) to allow the photo and give up the policy school officials used to reject it.
"What they’re doing is basically discriminating based on content or message," said Penny Dean (search), Douglass’ lawyer and a specialist in gun cases. "You can’t do that. You might want to but you can’t — and especially you can’t with a broad policy like this."
"We want the picture in the yearbook," said Dean said after filing the lawsuit Monday in U.S. District Court.
The lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction so the picture can appear in the yearbook and a permanent injunction against the "pick-and-choose policy" of what photographs are published, Dean said.
The lawsuit names the Londonderry school board members, high school principal, school superintendent, town manager and school officials involved in the production of the yearbook.
An avid hunter and trap and skeet shooter, Douglass said he decided long ago on his senior photo — an outdoor shot in a sportsman’s pose, wearing a shooting vest and holding his broke-open shotgun over his shoulder.
LONDONDERRY, N.H. — The school board has voted to ban a photo of a student from the senior section of his high school yearbook because he is posed with a shotgun.
But Tuesday's unanimous vote also backed a compromise: Blake Douglass can have the photo published in a "community sports" section, and a new photo — without the gun but featuring other elements of skeet and trap shooting — can appear in the seniors' section of the Londonderry High School (search) yearbook.
The compromise wasn't good enough for Douglass, who wanted his senior photo in traditional sportsman's pose, wearing an oxford shirt, navy vest and holding the shotgun over his shoulder.
"I don't see anything wrong with the picture," Douglass, 17, said at the hearing. "I just want my senior picture in the yearbook."
Last month the yearbook staff, adviser, principal and superintendent chose to bar the photo from the yearbook, saying the firearm was inappropriate.
Penny Dean, Douglass' lawyer, said she intends to file a complaint in U.S. District Court, and said the National Rifle Association (search) will pay for the court case.
Kids today have no idea what guns were intended to be used for. It's like sex education where no one can tell you what sex is about.
This is ridiculous. Doesn't the NRA have bigger fish to fry?
The parents were told before hand and they went ahead and did it.
The student can have any senior picture he wants for family and friends but the picture in the School book must conform to the rules.
Now go shoot a duck or something!!
The school is probably right to choose what is acceptable and what isn't. The kid and his family are right in the fact that there really shouldn't be a big deal about it in the first place.
Guns don't belong in school period.
Now, it was a long time ago, but my Senior picture was taken at a photo studio.... NOT in school...
So was mine but the picture in our year book was done in school.
I think nowadays, you are allowed to submit a picture. It doesn't have to be the one taken at school.
But it does have to be within the rules.
I think thats what is in question here. And by the way, I don't think the gun was at school, just a picture.
If I'm not mistaken, many high schools in the country still have skeet and trap "clubs." I don't see the big deal with putting the photo in the yearbook. It's not like he was pointing it at the camera with a caption that read, "Go ahead punk, make my day."
He should have been, then he would be showing the school how serious he is.
I wouldn't have any problems with that caption.
I like a man with a big gun.
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