Guns are not something children should be bringing anywhere without a parent present and supervising. The gun range or out hunting is fine. Taking one to school is obviously not.

I want to start off with that because of where this particular story is going to go. I know some people will try to misconstrue what I’m saying, so I want to start off by being clear.

You see, an Ohio girl is in deep trouble right now because she brought a gun onto the school bus.

An 11-year-old girl is facing criminal charges after she brought a handgun onto her school bus, reportedly telling authorities she was “tired of being picked on all the time.”

…

When asked why she had the gun, she reportedly told officers she was tired of being picked on. The girl was arrested and has been charged with carrying a concealed weapon, improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, and illegal conveyance of possession of a deadly weapon or dangerous ordinance in a school and safety zone.

Now, what this young woman did is out of line. A gun isn’t how you deal with something like this.

That said, I do understand her frustration.

Look, our schools are terrible at dealing with bullying. I mean, hell, look at how some social justice crusaders act. It’s still bullying, but now they’re being celebrated for it.

Even when it’s not like that, though, bullies know how to get away with it. They know where the lines are and how to pull up just shy of them.

Then, if someone fights back, they’re the ones who get in trouble.

I can’t tell you the number of times I dealt with detention or was suspended because I tried to deal with bullying. The same thing happened with my son when he was in school.

So what happens is that the bullies are able to push and push and push and the victims feel they have no recourse. If they do lash out, they’re going to get in trouble, so I can see why someone might figure that if they’re going to get in trouble anyway, they might as well make sure they’re never going to get picked on again.

I get it.

I don’t condone it, though.

There are lines that should never be crossed, and this is one of them. As bad as the picking can be, it’s not worth throwing your life away by even threatening someone with a gun. I know it’s difficult in that moment to believe it, but it’s the absolute truth.

Luckily, no one was hurt.

However, if schools want to prevent this kind of thing, they have to understand how bullying works and how bullies work the system so they can get away with it. They also have to recognize that just telling someone to tell a teacher doesn’t actually accomplish much. Sometimes the teachers do nothing. Other times, all those teachers’ efforts do is prompt the bullies to ramp up their efforts.

Schools need to do better.

But–and this cannot be overstated–this girl’s mother needs to do better as well.

Do not allow your children to have that kind of access to your guns. Lock them up when they’re not in use so they can’t take them to school. Don’t play the “my kid wouldn’t” card because you don’t know that.

Frankly, everyone in this mess needs to do better.