Teenagers suspended over homecoming photo with airsoft guns

Two high school juniors from Taunton, Massachusetts, decided to include their hobby in their homecoming photos, a decision which could lead to their expulsion.
Since the photos were taken at home, they didn't think it would be a problem to pose with their airsoft guns, but when the photos were shared online, the students were suspended for ten days. The school principal has involved the police and is considering whether to expel the students entirely.
Although airsoft guns may resemble real weapons to the untrained eye, they shoot small plastic pellets and are used in designated areas similar to a paintball course. It is also legal to own a real gun in Massachusetts, with required permits, if you are over 15; both students are 16.
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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