School Cracks Down on 1st Grader for ‘Finger Guns’

in Current Events, This Week

Two men appear on Fox News to talk to host Laura Ingraham.
Laura Ingraham talks to the father of a student who was suspended for “finger guns.” (Photo Fox News Digital)

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

A Playful Game Goes Awry

A simple game of “cops and robbers” turned a child’s world upside down at Bagley Elementary School in Alabama last month.

J.B. Belcher, just 6, mimicked a finger gun, and was then thrust into an adult situation, reported Fox News Digital.

A Distress Signal from the School

“He was terrified, rightfully so,” shared Jerrod Belcher, J.B.’s dad, revealing that his son faced an interrogation and was forced to sign a Class III infraction form for using finger guns.

Comparing Imaginary Finger Guns to Real Threats?

Labeling a child’s playful act alongside serious offenses like arson and bomb threats, as a Class III infraction?

The suspension notice claims J.B. committed a “3.22 Threat” infraction, akin to threats involving actual weapons.

Signature of Innocence

A document, bearing J.B.’s hesitant, childlike signature, screams the absurdity of expecting such young ones to grasp these adult concepts.

SEE ALSO: NSSF-Adjusted NICS Background Checks for September 2023

Belcher’s attorney, M. Reed Martz, underscores that it highlights the ludicrousness of the school’s approach.

Can Play Equal Violence?

Arson, assault, and threats are all severe. But finger guns? Fox News’ Laura Ingraham and many others ponder if they can reasonably share a category.

A Slight Reprieve But Not Enough

J.B.’s back in class with a downgraded Class II Infraction, yet the family demands the district to erase this blip from his record, refusing to let him be labeled violent or dangerous.

“Additionally, the school must remove any label, warning, or other sort of classification of J.B. as a potentially violent or dangerous student,” says the letter drafted by Martz.

Not an Isolated Incident

Sadly, this isn’t the school’s first rodeo. Another 6-year-old faced a Class III infraction last year for a water gun incident.

These youngsters are ensnared in surprisingly harsh, adult situations for mere child’s play.

More Harmful Than a Punch?

The bizarre irony: a finger gun is deemed more dangerous than a physical punch in this school’s eyes. Belcher aptly points out the non-existent injury record from finger guns in history.

“It should be noted that punching or hitting a student would have only been a Class II violation, so in the eyes of these school administrators, a finger gun is more serious than punching a classmate in the nose,” Belcher told FOX News Digital.

“Many noses have been broken by fists, but in the last 600 years since the invention of firearms, not a single person has been so much as bruised by a ‘finger gun,’” he added.

Taking a Stand

Martz and the Belcher family are demanding a rectification, hopeful it won’t reach legal complexities. They’ve given the Board of Education a deadline to acknowledge the situation’s absurdity and act.

Finger Guns Vs. Reality

So here we are, questioning: how did we get to a point where a child’s imaginative play leads to genuine fear, threat labeling, and potential legal action?

The recoil from this scenario sparks a broader debate about our school systems, children’s rights, and how best to safeguard both.

Let’s aim for a future where child’s play isn’t court material.

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About the author: Larry Z Welcome to “Inside GunsAmerica: Where Values Meet Excellence”, an exclusive deep dive into one of the leading online platforms dedicated to the promotion and protection of the Second Amendment.

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  • Bruce W Stanton October 7, 2023, 3:24 pm

    I played ‘guns’ when I was a young boy. We had full scale wars with the neighborhood boys with simulated guns and toy guns. As far as I know, none of us ended up as violent offenders.

  • bobyouruncle October 7, 2023, 10:12 am

    What?

  • D.J. October 6, 2023, 11:31 am

    Is this not what the “ educated elite “ have decided our society
    must look like ?
    Three letters as a suffix to one’s name , does not a genius make .
    In fact , quite the opposite as far as I’m concerned .

  • Ben Dover October 6, 2023, 10:28 am

    Leftist wokism is destroying our nation.

    It’s time to eradicate them through conscious efforts at the ballot box, and then the bullet box.

  • Brian October 6, 2023, 10:27 am

    I wouldn’t even give them 10 days. I would have already sued and demanded this “administrator,” who illegally interrogated and forced my child to sign some report admitting “guilt” for his alleged action, be fired immediately! Screw with my
    5 year old kid over something this ridiculously trivial, and your gonna pay, and absolutely no will be quarter given! Tired of this progressive crap!

  • paul I'll call you what I want/1st Amendment October 5, 2023, 2:21 pm

    what no cashless bail, no diversion program, no money to bribe him to stop?????

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