Only in America: Sign of the times
A deaf pre-schooler is barred from signing his name because the gesture supposedly resembles a weapon — and more in our collection of strange revelations about the nation

Nebraska 3-year-old Hunter Spanjer is deaf, so he communicates his name by signing with a hand gesture. But Hunter's school believes that the official sign for his name, which is made by waving his hands with crossed and pointed fingers, too closely resembles a gun, and is therefore in violation of the school's strict no-weapons policy. "This is absolutely ridiculous," Hunter's grandmother told a local news station. School officials say they will not discuss the matter publicly, but are working with Hunter's parents on a compromise.
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