Nebraska accepts guns in school pictures, as long as they are done in a tasteful manner. The Broken Bow school board has voted to allow students to pose with guns for their senior photos.
A Nebraska school board has voted to authorize seniors to feature guns in their school pictures. On Monday night, by a vote of 6-0, Broken Bow school board members made it acceptable for students to take yearbook pictures while holding guns or knives.
School officials decided to have a vote on “the guns in school pictures issue,” after a student was denied having his hunter-inspired portrait in the yearbook, last year.
Many parents from the small town of about 3,500 people complained to Superintendent, Mark Sievering, who decided to fix the problem. According to Sievering, students from Broken Bow Public Schools can take pictures with their guns, but it must be done in a tasteful way.
Seniors are not allowed to point their guns or brandish the weapon at the camera, and they are not permitted to have dead animals on the background. While the rules have been modified for guns, it is still not acceptable for seniors to take pictures while they are using drugs, alcohol or tobacco.
Every year, about 50 seniors graduate from Broken Bow and many of them take part in hunting, skeet, trap and other outdoor sporting activities. A majority of the community owns firearms and Broken Bow is famous for its annual Nebraska One Box Pheasant Hunt, which attracts hunters from all over America. Television networks also film the event.
Sievering revealed that many other Nebraska districts accept guns in yearbooks, and further defended his decision by saying:
“The board I believe felt they wanted to give students who are involved in those kinds of things the opportunity to take a senior picture with their hobby, with their sport, just like anybody with any other hobby or sport.”
Activists against gun violence, say Nebraska’s acceptance of guns in school pictures is not a big deal as long as the sessions take place outdoor, they are supervised and the rifles are not loaded.
