The point is--knife in the car is OK. Take knife out of car is NOT ok. Same as knife at home you could have brought is OK. Bring knife from car is NOT ok. The knife is not such a hazard that it matters that it is slightly closer in the car. A table knife is NOT A WEAPON...a fork is NOT A WEAPON...a spoon is NOT A WEAPON. I assure you that I can kill a person with anyone of those items, but they are not weapons. The rule should be that you don't bring WEAPONS onto the school grounds. These include explosives, bombs, guns, bazookas, rpgs, mortars, crossbows, bows, spears, swords, battle axes, maces, daggers, dirks, bowie knives, billy clubs, nunchaku, shurikins, and stun guns. There are other things with primarily non weapon functions that are forbidden as "hazardous objects and substances" which are forbidden except in your car. These would include many blunt instruments like: maglites, baseball bats, hockey sticks, golf clubs, pipe wrenches, crowbars, candlesticks, and pipes. Also included would be some sharp items like: garden tools, tableware (including steak knives), SAK's, multitools, pocket knives with blade length less than 3.5", sharp tools (carpet knives, box openers, X-acto knives, utility knives--things you use at work or for crafts). And you can't ignore gasoline--it's OK in the gas tank or an approved safety container. It's bad if you bring it into the building without being asked.
The issue is that there is virtually no safety benefit to banning these things in cars if equally dangerous items are more readilly available all over the school. You can break a bottle if you want to cut someone. You can stab them with many common implements like pens and pencils. You can hit people with chairs, computer monitors, heavy backpacks, weight lifting equipment, baseball bats, and many other common school items. You can shove people through windows and knock them down stairs. All of these are likelier acts of rage and more dangerous than someone going out to their car and getting a pocket knife.
Your biggest hazard is probably some nut who goes out to the parking lot, drains some gasoline out of a car, and sets the building on fire. That could kill dozens or hundreds of people without the use of a gun or knife. That is more what the gang at Columbine were planning to do. They had a propane tank, but got distracted playing with guns.
We just aren't significantly protected by banning steak knives in cars and we are capriciously punishing people for having ordinary tools in their vehicles. Random punishment for harmless activity undermines rules and authority. It also demoralizes students who are generally trying to do things right. In our to notable cases in point, two girls who were honor students.
[This message has been edited by Jeff Clark (edited 01-29-2000).]
