UPDATE: N.J. district facing backlash over gun photo suspensions changes policy

A New Jersey school district that allegedly suspended two high school students this week over a gun photo taken during a family visit to a private shooting range is facing community backlash and the threat of a lawsuit over district policies.

The photo of four rifles, magazines and a gun duffel bag was shared by one of the students on the social media app Snapchat with the caption "fun day at the range," according to Lacey Township resident Amanda Buron, a family friend of one of the students.

A screen capture of the image made the rounds among other students and later brought to the attention of Lacey Township High School officials. Buron said the students received a five-day in-school suspension for violating the school's policy on weapons possession.

News of the suspension soon circulated on social media groups for Lacey and quickly drew hundreds of responses harshly criticizing the district's action and its policy on weapons, which many called overly broad.

Lacey schools Superintendent Craig Wigley said in an email to NJ Advance Media on Thursday that "information posted on social media is incorrect" and that private matters involving students cannot be discussed. He declined to say what aspect of the accounts posted on social media is inaccurate.

"We are not at will to contradict public opinion on the internet," Wigley wrote. He declined to be interviewed by phone.

Many have called for a huge turnout at the school board's next scheduled meeting on Monday at the high school to protest the decision. A few people noted that the image was ill-timed after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida that killed 17.

Thousands of students around New Jersey staged walkouts and held in-school programs on Wednesday in response to the shooting in Parkland.

The controversy at Lacey's high school has drawn the attention of a New Jersey gun advocacy group, which sent a cease and desist letter to the district threatening a lawsuit if its policy remained unchanged and the suspension of the students was not overturned.

The Association of New Jersey Rifle & Pistol Clubs letter cited the rule stating students could be suspended for up to a year if they are "reported to be in possession of a weapon of any type for any reason or purpose on or off school grounds."

Multiple attempts by NJ Advance Media to reach the students and their families were unsuccessful. Buron said both families are upset at how the incident was handled. Both teens fell behind in Advance Placement courses due to the in-school suspensions, she said.

ANJRPC, the gun group, said the bigger issue is with the policy itself.

"The policy is clearly wrong and violates the Second Amendment," ANJRPC executive director Scott Bach said. "We hope that they're reasonable people and they will fix it. If they don't, we're prepared to take legal action."

The ANJRPC also demanded Lacey school officials apologize to the two boys and clear their records.

"Schools do not have the authority to chill the rights of their students off of school grounds, and this blatant infringement of constitutional rights will not be tolerated," Bach said. "I don't care if no students were disciplined. The policy has got to go."

Ed Cardinal, whose son attends the high school but was not one of the students involved in the gun range photo, said the district has overstepped in other ways.

District officials demanded that his son remove a window sticker depicting a gun from his pickup truck that he drives to school.

"He was kind of heated about it and so was I," Ed Cardinal said, adding that they removed the sticker after administrators threatened to punish the teenager.

Cardinal also criticized school officials for a policy that allows them to punish a student for having anything they consider a weapon -- even a dinner fork -- as the Lacey resident noted.

"By law and by morality, the school shouldn't have the right to do anything about something that happens off school grounds," Cardinal said. "The boys were lawfully handling a gun at a shooting range."

A spokeswoman for the Coalition of New Jersey Firearm Owners pointed out that a 10-year-old can legally hunt in New Jersey.

"The policy is wrong," Theresa Inacker said. "They need to change their language and make this right."

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook.