GOP Bill Proposes Defunding Schools With Rules Against 'Imaginary Guns

"This government-sanctioned political correctness is traumatizing children and spreading irrational fear."

A 7-year-old in Maryland was suspended for eating a Pop-Tart pastry into the shape of a gun. (screen grab)

Congressman Steve Stockman (R-Texas) proposed a bill this week that would end federal funding to schools that punish kids for playing with imaginary guns.

“The Student Protection Act, H.R. 2625, is a reaction to what Stockman says is the zero tolerance policy at some schools that has led to several suspensions of very young children who engage in these activities, including cases where students pretended their thumb and index finger is a gun,” The Hill reports.

These policies, the bill explains, are punishing "harmless expressions of childhood play," and are instead teaching students to fear "inanimate objects that are shaped like guns."

Stockman noted several examples of what many would consider to be overreactions by school officials:

A deaf preschooler in Nebraska who was allegedly asked to change his name because the sign language version resembled a "weapon"

A second grader in Colorado who was suspended for throwing an imaginary grenade while playing “rescue the world”

Three 6-year-olds in Maryland who were suspended for making ‘gun’ signs with their hands during recess

And let’s not forget the 14-year-old who was suspended for wearing a National Rifle Association shirt that said, "Protect your rights."

"This government-sanctioned political correctness is traumatizing children and spreading irrational fear," the bill reads.

Congressman Steve Stockman (R-Texas) (AP)

The bill would halt federal funds to schools that punish students for activities including carrying miniature toy guns, and "brandishing a pastry or other food which is partially consumed in such a way that the remnant resembles a gun."

“Schools would also have funding blocked if they get students in trouble for possessing a Lego gun,” The Hill report continues, “using fingers and thumbs or writing instruments to simulate a gun, wearing clothing supporting the Second Amendment, and drawing or possessing pictures of guns.”