A National Guard recruiter was barred from distributing promotional T-shirts at a New York high school after teachers realized they featured the silhouette of a soldier holding a rifle.

A recruiter for the New York Army National Guard was at Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk High School on Friday handing out T-shirts that say “National Guard” across the top, with the silhouette of a solider holding a gun in front of the American flag, a local CBS affiliate reported.

The School District said it has a very strict policy forbidding students from wearing any clothing that has a weapon on it.

“A pointed gun is just not appropriate for a high school,” Alan McCartney, the school district’s interim superintendent, told Fox News.

“A couple of teachers realized it showed a silhouette of a rifleman on it,” he said. “I realize some students look at the T-shirt and all they see is the National Guard. And that is a good thing. Others look at the shirt and all they see is the rifle.”

The school principal reportedly asked the recruiter to stop handing out the T-shirts and asked students who already received one to take it off or turn it inside out.

A number of students refused to comply with the order, saying they felt the policy was disrespectful to the recruiter, the CBS affiliate reported.

The National Guard said it will replace the T-shirts with a new version that follows the school’s dress code.

“We were happy to oblige the superintendent and remove them from any further distribution,” National Guard spokesman Richard Goldenberg told Fox News. “We are always respectful of all different school policies.”

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