Attorney: Even ‘Straw and Spitball’ Violates University of Georgia Weapons Ban

On April 12 two University of Georgia football players were arrested for alleged on-campus possession of BB guns, after which attorney Kim Stephens stressed that even a “straw and spitball” violates the school’s weapons policy.

The two players–Julian Rochester and Chad Clay–were both “charged with having a weapon in a school zone and criminal damage in the second degree.” Both players are alleged to have been “shooting solo cups in their dorm room with a Daisy BB gun, which left marks on the door and in other areas of the room.”

Clay was booked at 12:13 a.m. and Rochester at 12:29 a.m. They remained in jail as of 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.

According to Dawg Nation, Athens defense attorney Kim Stephens said the school’s weapons policy is written in a way that “anything that shoots a projectile — ‘including a straw and spitball’ — fits the definition of a weapon on campus.” She suggested “a steak knife in the campus dining hall” can be construed as “a felony under the statute.”

The University of Georgia Police Department website says, “Weapons come in many forms, and simply possessing one of these objects can be considered a violation of the law.” The weapons policy on the site goes on to say, “Unless an exception is expressly granted…the following items are prohibited on campus:

• Pistol, revolver, or any weapon designed or intended to propel a missile of any kind (this includes air soft, paintball, BB or pellet guns, potato guns and other such homemade devices)
• Knife having a blade of two or more inches
• Straight-edge razor or razor blade
• Spring stick
• Bat, club, or other bludgeon-type weapon
• Nun chahka, nun chuck, nunchaku, shuriken
• Throwing star or oriental dart
• Stun gun or taser

Head coach Kirby Smart expressed disappointment over the alleged actions of the two freshman:

I’m disappointed with the poor judgment of Julian and Chad. We expect full compliance with the policies of the University and of our football program from all our student-athletes. Information is still being gathered but they will be disciplined in an appropriate manner.

AWR Hawkins is the Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com