Rep. Ryan Guillen, a Democratic lawmaker in Texas, said kids shouldn’t be tossed out of school for biting Pop-Tarts and other edibles into the shape of guns — and he’s brought forward a bill to “fix this” scenario.
“Texas students shouldn’t lose instruction time for holding gun-shaped Pop-Tart snacks at school,” he said, the Houston Chronicle reported. “This bill will fix this.”
The bill would also prohibit schools from punishing students through the fifth grade for drawing pictures of guns, carrying pictures of guns, or using objects to mimic guns, the Chronicle reported. His bill would also ban the disciplining of children for playing with toy guns, The Blaze said.
Mr. Guillen said he got the idea for his bill from the widely reported story of Josh Welch, the 7-year-old Maryland boy who was suspended in 2013 for chewing his Pop-Tart into what school officials believed was the shape of a gun.
At least one fellow Democrat said he’s not in favor of Mr. Guillen’s bill.
“If I was voting today, I would vote against that bill,” said state Sen. John Whitmire, the Chronicle reported. “I just think you have to, in my judgment, leave it to local administrators and school campus administrators to weight the circumstances.”
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.