Opinion

Iowa school ends 21-gun salute for Veteran’s Day, allegedly over claims it promotes gun violence

031207-N-5024R-087 Pearl Harbor, Hawaii (Dec. 7, 2003) Ð Members of the U.S. Marine Corps Rifle Detail perform a 21-gun salute during the 62nd Pearl Harbor Anniversary ceremony of the attack on Pearl Harbor, held aboard the USS Arizona Memorial. More than 250 distinguished visitors and veterans were expected to attend the ceremony which also included the guided missile destroyer USS OÕKane (DDG 77) rendering honors, more than 40 wreath presentations, a 21-gun salute and the playing of taps. The Guest Speaker was Commander, U. S. Pacific Command, Adm. Thomas B. Fargo. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 2nd Class Johnnie R. Robbins. (RELEASED)

School administrators across the country have collectively lost their minds over guns in the last few years.  The latest report of anti-gun hysteria from the education class comes from Belle Plaine, Iowa, where, according to local station KWWL, one school is ending its traditional 21-gun salute to honor veterans on Veteran’s Day.

KWWL said the decision is in response to Iowa gun laws, but a post at Infowars said:

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Administrators at Belle Plaine High School in Belle Plaine say the facility will no longer hold their annual Veteran’s Day assembly on school grounds, claiming the event’s traditional 21 gun salute “promotes gun violence,” according to NBC affiliate KWWL.

Hmmm… So, which is it?  Could it be that KWWL edited their post to tamp down some of the anger the original report would have generated?

As you can see below, the report was first published on Friday, October 16 at 4:29 p.m. local time.

kwwl1The Infowars story was published on October 19, the very same day the KWWL report was updated.

We went to KWWL’s Facebook page to see if we could spot the story there.  Strangely enough, the story appears to have been yanked as we were unable to find it, even going back a full day before the story was first published.  Imagine that.

So we went to the Facebook page for Belle Plaine High School, and guess what we found, right at the top of the page?  That’s right, we saw this:

kwwl-post1As you can see, the original version of the article backs up Infowars’ initial report — the school ended the salute over concerns it promotes gun violence.

Infowars added:

Veterans and residents of the small town were understandably upset following the announcement, “as veterans firing blank rifles at the school assembly has been a fun and safe tradition for as long as some students can remember,” reports Hillary Maglin.

A member of the American Legion, a veterans organization, offered up their property near the school so the assembly could continue, but they are disappointed over the school’s decision and fear it could reverberate to other parts of the state.

Pam Munson, a commander at American Legion Post 39, says her organization will continue to argue in favor of the assembly.

To be fair, a post at KCRG noted that Iowa law forbids weapons in areas that have been designated gun-free zones, like schools:

Here is Iowa Code 724.4B:

724.4B CARRYING WEAPONS ON SCHOOL GROUNDS — PENALTY

— EXCEPTIONS

1. A person who goes armed with, carries, or transports a firearm of any kind, whether concealed or not, on the grounds of a school commits a class “D” felony. For the purposes of this section, “school” means a public or nonpublic school as defined in section 280.2.

2. Subsection 1 does not apply to the following: a. A person listed under section 724.4, subsection 4, paragraphs “b” through “f” or “j”. b. A person who has been specifically authorized by the school to go armed, carry, or transport a firearm on the school grounds, including for purposes of conducting an instructional program regarding firearms.

The question here is, under this law, can an exception be made for veterans performing something like a 21-gun salute?  Some think so.

Still, the knee-jerk reaction is offensive and so was the initial report…

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Joe Newby

A 10-year veteran of the U.S. Marine Corps, Joe ran for a city council position in Riverside, Calif., in 1991 and managed successful campaigns for the Idaho state legislature. Co-author of "Banned: How Facebook enables militant Islamic jihad," Joe wrote for Examiner.com from 2010 until it closed in 2016 and his work has been published at Newsbusters, Spokane Faith and Values and other sites. He now runs the Conservative Firing Line.

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