AndrewBlakeLacey Township, NJ – An attorney from a New Jersey gun organization association announced that a lawsuit may be pending after a school disciplined two students for going to a gun range outside of school hours.
Patch.com reported that attorney Daniel Schmutter, with the Association of New Jersey Rifle and Pistol Clubs, sent a letter to Lacey Township School District officials after two students posted pictures on Snapchat showing them at a gun range.
There was no threatening context to the pictures or anything that would otherwise cause alarm.
In the letter, Schmutter stated that suspending the two students for posting photos off school grounds and unrelated to school activities was a “very serious violation” of the their rights.
Schmutter said the students were both “straight-A” students, according to Patch.com. He also said that the students had attempted to return to school but were not allowed to go to classes.
The claims are that there is a school district policy which prohibits firearm possession by students on or off school grounds.
“These are top-quality kids,” Schumuter said. “It’s astonishing what they have done to these kids.”
According to Patch.com, the Lacey Township school district follows the Safe Schools Initiative, the Zero Tolerance for Guns Act and also has its own zero-tolerance policy for any students who have weapons in their possession, on or off school grounds.
Students could be subject to a long-term suspension for up to one-year, according to Schmutter.
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Anthony Muro posted the claim of the two students being suspended at 6:23 p.m. March 13 on the Lacey Township Chatter public Facebook group.
“INFO NEEDED: it is my understanding that two students at Lacey Township High School were placed on 5 days of detention for posting pictures on social media of firearms with the caption of “fun day at the range”. If anyone has any more information regarding the validity or accuracy of this story, please let me know. I am currently under the impression that these kids were punished because someone was offended,” Muro posted.
Blue Lives Matter contacted Lacey Township High School and read Muro’s post to Principal Gregory Brandis.
The principal said that Muro’s post was not accurate; however, he said he would not elaborate further and say what exactly was inaccurate because the matter involved high school students.
Patch.com reported that Superintendent Craig Wigley said the social media reports were not true, but would not comment on student matters.
NJ.com also tried to get more information on the story and was also shot down by the school district.
Frank Horvath posted on the Lacey Township page and said he spoke to the superintendent, and that the superintendent would not confirm or deny the story.
“He did state that since the Parkland shooting, they have received many requests to look into social media posts, some that seemed valid, and some that seemed to prove not too, including bringing up posts from as far back as November,” Horvath posted. “I don’t know why, but something tells me that he is getting pressured by others in the board or outside influences to ‘make a statement’ about ‘zero tolerance of guns.’”
A student responded on the page and said the rumor was true, and that his classmates had been disciplined.
“To those questioning the validity of this situation, this is 100% true, my two class mates posted photos/videos of them at a shooting range, and got in trouble because of it,” John Carr posted.
Jack Pyle, a trustee for the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners, said in an email to Blue Lives Matter that his organization has received reports that students at the school district have been threatened over other gun-related issues.
Pyle said that parents have said their sons have been threatened with suspension, disciplinary action or detentions for similar photos posted on social media and for having NRA logos or similar images on their personal vehicles.