An outraged parent and gun rights groups are speaking out against an Alabama elementary school that suspended a first-grader, reportedly for making a finger gun.
Jerrod Belcher, whose six-year-old son J.B. attends Bagley Elementary School in Jefferson County, Alabama, says the school over-reacted to a game of “cops and robbers.” A notice of suspension shared with Fox News Digital states that Belcher’s son committed a “Class III” infraction on September 1 by “using his fingers to shoot at another student.”
In a letter sent to Jefferson County school officials on Friday, Belcher’s attorney M. Reed Martz demanded that the school “immediately and publicly confirm it will remove any record of an infraction, disciplinary action, or other sort of report” from J.B.’s record. Gun Owners of America, a national Second Amendment group, partnered with the attorney and state-based BamaCarry in Alabama to send the letter to school administrators. School officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
According to the attorney and school staff, on September 1, J.B. and another student were playing “cops and robbers” during recess. During the game, the children made pretend guns with their fingers and said “Bang, bang” at each other.
An outraged parent and gun rights groups are speaking out against an Alabama elementary school that suspended a first-grader, reportedly for making a finger gun.
Jerrod Belcher, whose six-year-old son J.B. attends Bagley Elementary School in Jefferson County, Alabama, says the school over-reacted to a game of “cops and robbers.” A notice of suspension shared with Fox News Digital states that Belcher’s son committed a “Class III” infraction on September 1 by “using his fingers to shoot at another student.”
In a letter sent to Jefferson County school officials on Friday, Belcher’s attorney M. Reed Martz demanded that the school “immediately and publicly confirm it will remove any record of an infraction, disciplinary action, or other sort of report” from J.B.’s record. Gun Owners of America, a national Second Amendment group, partnered with the attorney and state-based BamaCarry in Alabama to send the letter to school administrators. School officials did not respond to multiple requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
According to the attorney and school staff, on September 1, J.B. and another student were playing “cops and robbers” during recess. During the game, the children made pretend guns with their fingers and said “Bang, bang” at each other.
“In other words, the school charged a six year old boy with an infraction equivalent to a felony crime,” Martz wrote. “The irony is not lost on J.B.’s parents that ‘[i]ntentionally hitting, pushing, kicking, or otherwise being physically aggressive with another student’ is only a Class II Infraction. In other words, J.B. would be subject to a lesser maximum penalty had he punched the other student in the face!”
According to Martz, J.B.’s disciplinary action has since been downgraded to a “Class II Infraction,” and J.B. has been permitted to return to class — but the attorney says that is “too little, too late.”
“This letter calls on the school district to immediately and publicly confirm it will remove any record of an infraction, disciplinary action, or other sort of report of the activities of September 1, 2023, from J.B.’s records. Additionally, the school must remove any label, warning, or other sort of classification of J.B. as a potentially violent or dangerous student,” the letter concludes.
“Further, the school district should confirm that it will allow age and context appropriate playtime activities which cause no substantial disruption, contain no actual, implied, or perceived threat, and pose no danger to anyone, and that, in the future, no student will face punishment or removal, regardless of whether students or staff would prefer young boys not use “gun fingers” as part of their play.”
In a statement, Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt said the incident demonstrates an “anti-gun mindset” that pervades many communities.
“This was a gross mishandling of a situation where children were simply being children. I imagine most men, young and old, hearing about this can recall having played in a similar fashion in their own youth,” said Pratt. “We will continue to demand action until a full apology is made and all disciplinary records tied to this incident are permanently destroyed.”
In a statement, Gun Owners of America Senior Vice President Erich Pratt said the incident demonstrates an “anti-gun mindset” that pervades many communities.
“This was a gross mishandling of a situation where children were simply being children. I imagine most men, young and old, hearing about this can recall having played in a similar fashion in their own youth,” said Pratt. “We will continue to demand action until a full apology is made and all disciplinary records tied to this incident are permanently destroyed.”