The Sad Necessity of Anonymity

A Wisconsin middle school teacher has been placed on administrative leave after somebody informed school administrators of an internet photo of her with a rifle. Betsy Ramsdale had been a teacher at Beaver Dam Middle School for a little over a year when the bru-haha erupted. Superintendent Donald Childs states a "concerned staff member" reported the photo to school administration. Childs goes on to say that he is "unaware of any sinister intent" but he still suspended the instructor because the use of the photo on a personal Facebook page "appears to be poor judgment".

Gun owners who walk among hoplophobes in the daily course of their professional lives have long known that their jobs could be in jeopardy if too much is made of their gun ownership. If the wrong person in charge has a fear and loathing of firearms, they could find themselves in the unemployment line at a severe disadvantage. Many gun owners use pseudonyms online not because they fear government oppression, but because they recognize the very real, unjustified and ill informed snap judgements that can and probably will be made if they are exposed as gun owners in the workplace. It is sad that the life liberty and pursuit of happiness of many law abiding gun owners is placed in jeopardy if they exercise their first amendment right to speak about their second amendment rights.



Update: The ACLU of Wisconsin has chosen to defend Betsy Ramsdale. "Absent any evidence that the teacher poses a threat, the district should not over-react to the sight of a gun in one of their employee's hands," said Chris Ahmuty, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin.