Darnell Young was surrounded. He had been bullied for being gay for months. Now his tormentors were calling him names and threatening to beat him up. But they never got the chance.Young pulled out a stun gun from his backpack and fired it into the air. His would-be attackers all ran away.

    So describes CNN a scene that seems to come straight out of the movies. The bullied dramatically turns the tables on the bullies. None of them are physically harmed, but the message is sent: justice is served.

Right?

Even the calmest and most peaceful of people probably have at some point dreamed of violently stopping those who try to harm us. Especially when it comes to bullying, a little bit of almost-violence seems justified to end the cruel torture.

So what’s the problem with this act of poetic justice?

Well there’s the fact that it doesn’t solve very much for Young, beyond the immediate threat of assault. Young didn’t hurt anyone. But having and firing a dangerous weapon on school grounds will, for obvious reasons, not go over well with school authorities. He has been suspended from his school until January of 2013. Not the happiest of endings.

Then there’s the broader issue: Why does a student feel so threatened that they start carrying a stun gun? And how do they end up in a situation where they have to use it?

CNN reports that the usual methods of bullying prevention failed Young. The school has anti-bullying programs in place for all grade levels. Young’s mother tried to work with administration. The student still did not feel safe, and his mom saw no other option than to send him to school with the weapon.

The tragedy is that there are many students across the nation who would benefit (at least in the short term) from keeping a stun gun with them.

A study cited by CNN finds that almost 90% of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) students in a survey reported harassment in the previous year. Two thirds of them also do not feel safe because of their sexuality.

    As strange as a kid with a stun gun at school may seem, the situation is a symptom of a very common problem. The school system is failing to effectively create a safe environment for all students. This needs to be fixed as soon as possible. There has to be better solution to bullying than armed conflict.