Prominent Bethesda attorney and activist Robin Ficker has taken the case of a 5-year-old Mount Carmel, PA girl suspended after allegedly saying she would shoot a classmate with bubbles from her Hello Kitty Bubble Gun.
According to Ficker, the girl was interrogated for 3 hours - and threatened with jail - by school officials before her parents were informed of the issue. Ficker says the bubble-generating toy talk was initially categorized as a "terrorist threat" by officials.
The family and Ficker are not ruling out a lawsuit against the school.
“It’s not funny when a child is branded, when a child is suspended for playing with a bubble gun," Ficker told The Daily Item of Sunbury, PA.
This is the Bethesda attorney's second such case in a month. Just weeks ago, he successfully assisted a Silver Spring family's son who had been suspended for pointing his finger in a gun-like gesture. The Montgomery County school system eventually rescinded the suspension after the case became a national embarrassment.
I think everyone realizes there is heightened concern about school safety at this time (and the Montgomery County Council's removal of police officers from schools a few years ago now makes those politicians candidates for a future "Wanna Get Away?" Southwest ad. As Rick Perry once said, "Oops.").
But you can't outlaw normal childhood behavior. Speaking of "pointing fingers," maybe it's time the politicians point at themselves, instead of traumatizing kids for not meeting unreasonable expectations.
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