They used to 'kidnap' us in our youth group, but never like this...

[selfinflikted]

Pennsylvania Church Kidnaps Teens, Holds Them At Gunpoint, For 'Learning Exercise' (VIDEO)

Should those who orchestrated this be punished in any kind of way?

 

[Eudaimonist]

Pennsylvania Church Kidnaps Teens, Holds Them At Gunpoint, For 'Learning Exercise' (VIDEO)

Should those who orchestrated this be punished in any kind of way?

Yes, to the fullest extent of the law. And gaining "parental permission" should be no excuse.


eudaimonia,

Mark

 

[Paradoxum]

At first I thought that maybe they should be shown leniency, but at the end the pastor said he would do it again (with parental permission), so yes they should be punished.

 

[selfinflikted]

I agree with you both.

 

[Glas Ridire]

I'd say prosecute them under anti-hazing laws as the stories read, that looks most applicable. As for the off duty cop who used a real gun (I don't care if it was unloaded), well, that fella needs some time in the unemployment line to contemplate life. If that had been my little girl and I was sitting in the parking lot (reading a book waiting for her or whatever) the "abducting" men would likely have been shot. Little girl getting abducted is exactly what truck/trunk guns are made for.

 

[wanderingone]

Yes, to the fullest extent of the law. And gaining "parental permission" should be no excuse.


eudaimonia,

Mark

What Mark says.

 

[keith99]

I'd say prosecute them under anti-hazing laws as the stories read, that looks most applicable. As for the off duty cop who used a real gun (I don't care if it was unloaded), well, that fella needs some time in the unemployment line to contemplate life. If that had been my little girl and I was sitting in the parking lot (reading a book waiting for her or whatever) the "abducting" men would likely have been shot. Little girl getting abducted is exactly what truck/trunk guns are made for.

Yes their actions were extremely dangerous. Cop should be unemployeed and both should face jail time.

I'm betting it would not have to be YOUR little girl, that you would have taken the same drastic action for anyones little girl. I know I would.

 

[Jade Margery]

The only way I could think this might be justified is if those kids were planning to go do missionary work in a dangerous area in the very near future, and this was an attempt to show them the worst thing that could happen before they made the decision to go... with parental agreement first. But since there is no way kids that young need to be going into dangerous areas, and permission from the parents wasn't gained before hand, I say throw the book at the smug [bless not curse, I know.]

If it had been my child, there would have been hell to pay. But then, since I don't intend to enroll my children in any organizations that consider trauma and fear to be effective teaching mechanisms, I don't anticipate this occurring.

 

[TheChristianSurvivalGuide]

The off duty should lose his job if not his LE cert's.

This is a horrible exercise for any minor. I can understand (maybe) adults that are going to perform mission work in a hostile area undergoing some sort of immersion scenario, but minors? Regardless of parental consent this violates law.

 

[Wiccan_Child]

I'm gobsmacked that no one in the Church thought that this was a bad idea.

I wonder if it's because of, inspite of, or unrelated to, their religious beliefs?

 

[Glas Ridire]

Given that they are Assemblies of God, in a white, middle class suburb . .. .
Yeah, it is likely that their religious views were instrumental in making them (the adults involved) think (term used losely) that such an event was somehow relevant. As a denomination they tend to preach on end times/ rapture/ mark of the beastie stuff pretty frequently.

Reminds me of the old (Cold War) sermon illustration (unsure if the story was based on fact) about the masked gunmen that came into a church and told all the believers to stand up against the wall (implying execution to follow) and all the non-believers to leave, only thereafter to unmask and reveal themselves as Bible believing KGB (or some such) agents who were fearful of worshiping with unbelievers who might turn them in.

The iron curtain isn't what it used to be, and the U.S. is not going to to tolerate violations of the 1A, that would create such a scenario anytime in the next . .. say . .. 200+ years, so yeah. . . . I would say they are nuts.

 

[Jade Margery]

I'm gobsmacked that no one in the Church thought that this was a bad idea.

I wonder if it's because of, inspite of, or unrelated to, their religious beliefs?

I would say it's probably related to but not entirely caused by. You don't need to be religious to have delusional, stupid, dangerous ideas. But it helps you convince yourself they are good ones.

 

[ChristianT]

Pennsylvania Church Kidnaps Teens, Holds Them At Gunpoint, For 'Learning Exercise' (VIDEO)

Should those who orchestrated this be punished in any kind of way?

Off with their heads! Just kidding, I recall the movie "Alice In Wonderland." However they should be held responsible according to the strictest applicable law of their location. Just because they're a church and plead "I believe Jesus" doesn't mean they should be regarded as flawless. Punish the wrongdoings and let the rain fall on the just and the unjust (as in, let the law apply to the just and the unjust actions of all, regardless of affiliation)

 

[hedrick]

While the pillory or whipping post might be appropriate, technically this is kidnapping, and I believe the death penalty could apply. I don't think that is necessary. Some jail time is probably appropriate, and making sure that they never have any responsibilities involving children.

 

[Genersis]

Well yes, of course they should be punished.
Not too drastically, considering their motives weren't to harm.
It's really sad to see people too stupid to realise the consequences of these kinds of actions.
I guess it's like that old saying: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"....and walked with misguided actions.

 

[ChristianT]

Well yes, of course they should be punished.
Not too drastically, considering their motives weren't to harm.
It's really sad to see people too stupid to realise the consequences of these kinds of actions.
I guess it's like that old saying: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions"....and walked with misguided actions.

 

[Mling]

It's kidnapping. Charge them with kidnapping.

This is going to be my example from now on, when people do harmful things and try to claim that the harm doesn't really matter because they didn't mean to harm.

Though, I'd say the guys pulling it off were lucky one of the kids didn't try to fight back, because they would have been fighting for their life.

 

[Darkhorse]

If that had been my little girl and I was sitting in the parking lot (reading a book waiting for her or whatever) the "abducting" men would likely have been shot. Little girl getting abducted is exactly what truck/trunk guns are made for.

Exactly. This is a reasonable response to the situation. One only hopes that others have enough sense not to hold others at gunpoint as a joke.

 

[JustMeSee]

That was very poor thinking for people considering themselves adults.

 

[Glas Ridire]

Exactly. This is a reasonable response to the situation. One only hopes that others have enough sense not to hold others at gunpoint as a joke.

As I am contemplating this situation, wow. It could go bad so many ways. If an armed citizen shot the off duty cop, thinking it was a real abduction (a justified shoot according to PA law) would the media paint the citizen as a cop-killer? Would the local PD gun the citizen down or exercise street justice before learning the details? How could a citizen be expected to believe the off-duty's explanations that "it is okay, it is part of our youth program" and . . . it just goes on. I am going to take this nightmare scenario to a couple of my gun related message boards and see what their thoughts are.