Newtown, Conn., teacher arrested for gun at school

[Wendell]

Newtown police say 46-year-old Jason Adams, of Newtown, was found with a concealed firearm on Wednesday morning. Newtown Middle School security detained a teacher who had been seen with a firearm. Adams was charged with possession of a weapon on school grounds, which is illegal in Connecticut. Police say he has a valid pistol permit. The Newtown school system says the teacher has been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. A gunman shot and killed 20 students and six educators at nearby Sandy Hook Elementary School in December 2012.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/06/newtown-conn-teacher-arrested-for-having-gun-school/FNoTKAY6kZw7AFNcFQJGcN/story.html (http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/06/newtown-conn-teacher-arrested-for-having-gun-school/FNoTKAY6kZw7AFNcFQJGcN/story.html)

[Mitchell, Esq.]

I can't be that lucky that this case should walk in the door...

I'll check voicemail tomorrow morning and find out.

[BillSWPA]

Although I would never advise breaking the law, I find the priorities or our society to be disturbing.

An armored car guard can be licensed to carry a gun in one state, and by federal law all 50 states must honor that license while he is on duty.

A teacher, parent, etc. with a concealed handgun license issued by their home state (or even by multiple states) cannot carry a gun into a school to protect children in their care.

What does that say about which we value more: our money or our children?

Mitchell, I do hope this case comes your way. This teacher needs someone who can truly understand and argue his case.

[Savage Hands]

I hope there's donations set up for his defense.

[Lomshek]

I feel for the guy and hope this works out for him. He has a hell of a battle in store.

I'd think that if one decides to carry in such an NPE with so much hysterical baggage that one would have a rock solid carry completely covert method with a very small non-detectable gun. This would not be the place to prove you can CC a G35.

It would be very interesting to find out his carry method and how he was outed.

[Totem Polar]

I can't be that lucky that this case should walk in the door...

I'll check voicemail tomorrow morning and find out.

Dude, you've got to keep us posted.

That, and remember that "Kickstarter" is some sort of thing. Just saying.

[olstyn]

Hm, I fear this could go the wrong way. Hopefully Mr. Adams retains an excellent attorney. Good luck to you with that voicemail, Mitchell.

[Appalachained]

I think this case is very lucky. the government should closely manage access to guns

They do. SMH. This man is a college educated productive citizen who was thoroughly vetted by the government to be allowed to have and carry a firearm. His mistake was wanting to protect his and the lives of his students. The government frowns on this and would rather schools remain open killing fields for any lunatic to bust in and kill them all without any opposition.
So, how was this case very lucky?
Also capitalization and punctuation are used here.

[BillSWPA]

I think this case is very lucky. the government should closely manage access to guns

Do you seriously think they don't?

[Mitchell, Esq.]

Any of you read The Grey Man novels?

That's me. Courtland Gentry...

Cleaning it up, "If it were raining $100 bills, he'd be hit with $100 in pennies..."

[walker2713]

Troll?? Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...first post, joined forum this month??


I think this case is very lucky. the government should closely manage access to guns

[Drew78]

Troll?? Walks like a duck, quacks like a duck...first post, joined forum this month??

That was my thought too. Poorly written, incomplete sentences, no punctuation, and embarrassingly horrible Grammer. Left wing troll who has added nothing to the conversation that is substantive. Here's my "shocked" face......

[PNWTO]

I think this case is very lucky. the government should closely manage access to guns

This begs elaboration, or does your brand new account just want folks to go to your website?

[Irelander]

Back to the topic at hand...I am very interested in how the teacher got spotted with a gun. Was he just sloppy with his concealment?

[BillSWPA]

More information here:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/us/newtown-teacher-gun-arrest/index.html

Very little about how he got caught, but given how early in the day he got caught, three possibilities are suggested:

1) He got sloppy with his concealment.

2) He opened his mouth about the fact that he was armed around the wrong person.

3) Co-workers noticed the little irregularities that come from carrying a gun, got curious, and figured it out. Carrying in a NPE where one is observed 40+ hours/week by the same people is very different from a 2 hour trip to the local shopping mall: little details will be noticed, and will become a subject of discussion, increasing the likelihood of getting caught.

[BehindBlueI's]

More information here:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/us/newtown-teacher-gun-arrest/index.html

Very little about how he got caught, but given how early in the day he got caught, three possibilities are suggested:

1) He got sloppy with his concealment.

2) He opened his mouth about the fact that he was armed around the wrong person.

3) Co-workers noticed the little irregularities that come from carrying a gun, got curious, and figured it out. Carrying in a NPE where one is observed 40+ hours/week by the same people is very different from a 2 hour trip to the local shopping mall: little details will be noticed, and will become a subject of discussion, increasing the likelihood of getting caught.

All good reasons for the Smart Carry and keeping your mouth shut. If someone notices irregularities near your junk, they usually keep it to themselves.

[41magfan]

Back to the topic at hand...I am very interested in how the teacher got spotted with a gun. Was he just sloppy with his concealment?

No specifics mentioned ....

"Jason Adams, who also lives in Newtown, was taken into custody by an armed security guard, police told the Hartford Courant. School officials then called police.

Another teacher saw Adams with the gun and told the security officer, who is a retired Shelton, Connecticut, police officer."

http://heavy.com/news/2016/04/jason-adams-newtown-science-teacher-brought-gun-to-middle-school-permit-legal-owner-photos-mugshot-age-reason/

[JohnO]

If the teacher chose to carry at work his decision was synonymous with playing hopscotch in a minefield. It certainly appears that he managed to land on a mine.

No one will be forgiving in Newtown, CT the home of the Sandy Hook school massacre. The anti-gun progressives will be out for blood. He will undoubtedly incur significant legal expenses, probably loose his job, potentially be barred form his chosen profession, loose his 2nd Amendment rights and all his firearms. I can't imagine how this will not ruin his life.

Connecticut is rabidly anti-gun. There probably isn't a worse place nationwide for this to happen. If he was the owner of any "assault weapon/s" (as defined by CT) no matter the outcome they absolutely are gone for good. CT law required Assault Weapons be "registered" by legislation passed post Sandy Hook. They will have already been seized and transferred out of his name. Even if he is found completely innocent there is no way to return them under the current law.

[Drew78]

What a nightmare.

[11B10]

More information here:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/us/newtown-teacher-gun-arrest/index.html

Very little about how he got caught, but given how early in the day he got caught, three possibilities are suggested:

1) He got sloppy with his concealment.

2) He opened his mouth about the fact that he was armed around the wrong person.

3) Co-workers noticed the little irregularities that come from carrying a gun, got curious, and figured it out. Carrying in a NPE where one is observed 40+ hours/week by the same people is very different from a 2 hour trip to the local shopping mall: little details will be noticed, and will become a subject of discussion, increasing the likelihood of getting caught.


This ^^^^ should be somewhere where it has to be seen - couldn't be missed by all of us who carry before we leave the house. There is no excuse for getting caught while carrying concealed.

[valian]

Since it was said another teacher saw him with the gun...thinking maybe he exposed it while in the john? Anyway for the Dudley dooright who turned him in..gth you weenie!

[BillSWPA]

If the teacher chose to carry at work his decision was synonymous with playing hopscotch in a minefield. It certainly appears that he managed to land on a mine.

Well said.

[Lomshek]

More information here:

http://www.cnn.com/2016/04/06/us/newtown-teacher-gun-arrest/index.html

Very little about how he got caught, but given how early in the day he got caught, three possibilities are suggested:

1) He got sloppy with his concealment.

2) He opened his mouth about the fact that he was armed around the wrong person.

3) Co-workers noticed the little irregularities that come from carrying a gun, got curious, and figured it out. Carrying in a NPE where one is observed 40+ hours/week by the same people is very different from a 2 hour trip to the local shopping mall: little details will be noticed, and will become a subject of discussion, increasing the likelihood of getting caught.

#3 would definitely be a concern. Think how many curious bored eyes you have on you all day long as a teacher. One wrong hug, brush or bump in the hallway or classroom would be enough to doom you even if you never printed. Smart carry or inside the ankle carry with a micro .380 would be about all I'd trust.

[BillSWPA]

#3 would definitely be a concern. Think how many curious bored eyes you have on you all day long as a teacher. One wrong hug, brush or bump in the hallway or classroom would be enough to doom you even if you never printed. Smart carry or inside the ankle carry with a micro .380 would be about all I'd trust.

An excellent point, but I would not trust ankle carry. Think about the number of times one might be sitting with their ankle in view.

[Irelander]

This incident has me freaked out about my carry method. I'm looking into getting a SmartCarry holster right now.

[GardoneVT]

#3 would definitely be a concern. Think how many curious bored eyes you have on you all day long as a teacher. One wrong hug, brush or bump in the hallway or classroom would be enough to doom you even if you never printed. Smart carry or inside the ankle carry with a micro .380 would be about all I'd trust.

According to this (http://heavy.com/news/2016/04/jason-adams-newtown-science-teacher-brought-gun-to-middle-school-permit-legal-owner-photos-mugshot-age-reason/) article:


"Another teacher saw Adams with the gun and told the security officer, who is a retired Shelton, Connecticut, police officer"

It would seem there was a concealment failure which brought about the security officer intervention.

[Peally]

If you can avoid it, don't ever work for schools. I spend a good 70% of my life sitting in a decent target building with nothing more than harsh language.

[Irelander]

Armed teachers is a great idea as long as they are trained and have exemplary skill at concealment being discreet. However, breaking the law is breaking the law. Its one thing to carry in an NPE where you might be fired, but is another to carry in a illegal environment where you might go away for a long time. Hopefully this guy weighed the consequences before hand. Too bad he will get the shaft for trying to protect himself and his students. My opinion is that he was trying to do way more to protect his students than any anti-gun politician ever did.

[11B10]

Armed teachers is a great idea as long as they are trained and have exemplary skill at concealment being discreet. However, breaking the law is breaking the law. Its one thing to carry in an NPE where you might be fired, but is another to carry in a illegal environment where you might go away for a long time. Hopefully this guy weighed the consequences before hand. Too bad he will get the shaft for trying to protect himself and his students. My opinion is that he was trying to do way more to protect his students than any anti-gun politician ever did.



My thoughts ^^^ exactly.

[SecondsCount]

Armed teachers is a great idea as long as they are trained and have exemplary skill at concealment being discreet. However, breaking the law is breaking the law. Its one thing to carry in an NPE where you might be fired, but is another to carry in a illegal environment where you might go away for a long time. Hopefully this guy weighed the consequences before hand. Too bad he will get the shaft for trying to protect himself and his students. My opinion is that he was trying to do way more to protect his students than any anti-gun politician ever did.

Well said.

I'm hoping this case will spark legislation or a legal fight that can get the law changed in our favor.

[Drang]

I'm hoping this case will spark legislation or a legal fight that can get the law changed in our favor.
In the back of my mind there is this voice wondering if this was a set up to do exactly that. Did they find their volunteer to be the test case/challenge to the law?

[Mitch]

In the back of my mind there is this voice wondering if this was a set up to do exactly that. Did they find their volunteer to be the test case/challenge to the law?

I doubt it. That's a dangerous game for the teacher to play.

[BillSWPA]

While I am not admitted in CT and this is not my practice area, I doubt that going as far as getting arrested would be necessary. It is possible that Mitchell will correct me on this, but my understanding is that an allegation by the teacher that he is licensed to carry a gun, that his second amendment rights are being violated by current law, and that he intends to carry a gun to protect the students in his care but fears arrest if he does so, would be sufficient to give the court jurisdiction to hear the case.

[TheRoland]

And it's not like putting the issue in front of the courts would be in our interest anyway.

[BillSWPA]

And it's not like putting the issue in front of the courts would be in our interest anyway.

Given the current Supreme Court situation, I completely agree.

If we still had a 5-4 majority, I think we would still be a couple of cases away from being able to push a decision like this one all the way to the Supreme Court and expect it to take the case, and rule in our favor. I would at least want to see strict scrutiny applied to second amendment cases, a ruling that carrying in public falls under that right, and a ruling that carrying while in other states falls under that right. Only then would I counsel pushing an issue like this one.

[El Cid]

While I am not admitted in CT and this is not my practice area, I doubt that going as far as getting arrested would be necessary. It is possible that Mitchell will correct me on this, but my understanding is that an allegation by the teacher that he is licensed to carry a gun, that his second amendment rights are being violated by current law, and that he intends to carry a gun to protect the students in his care but fears arrest if he does so, would be sufficient to give the court jurisdiction to hear the case.

Both paths - civil and criminal - can get your situation in front of the highest court. But the stakes with the criminal path are not only more severe, you will likely spend your time waiting on a decision away from loved ones in a small concrete cell wearing an orange jumpsuit. I'll let someone else choose that route.

[Larry Sellers]

I think the issue becomes that most ( if not all) teachers attend an orientation session when they are newly hired or even the beginning of the new year and they go over and sign some sort of rules and regulations agreement. Most of which indicate or prohibit the carrying of firearms anywhere on school property. If nothing else he's most likely out of a career. I can understand his side/need to carry but this school system of all is going to be the least lenient or gun friendly. EVERY municipal job I've held has come with a day-long session of filling out paperwork all included a no firearms policy, I can't imagine Newtown is any different.

[Mitchell, Esq.]

I'm not representing him :( however, if one wanted to challenge a law's constitutionality, they can do so via a petition for a declaratory judgment with doesn't subject one to criminal penalties.