PORTSMOUTH, Va. – Douglass Park Elementary second-grader Josiah Green missed more than a month of school this year because he brought two guns to class, one a squirt gun and the other a Nerf gun.

The “weapons” were brightly colored and do not resemble a real gun to anyone with common sense.

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The boy’s mother, Audreyann Davis, told WAVY that Green was initially suspended for 10 days when he was busted with one of the toy guns during his physical education class, though he did not point it at anyone or make any sort of threats. School officials are now considering expelling the 7-year-old, she said.

“I was emotional and shocked, like is this really happening, because he’s 7 years old,” Davis said. “I understand, ok he’s suspended, but now you’re throwing that he could be expelled on the table.”

Davis said she usually checks her son’s backpack for toys when he heads off to school.

“I blame myself,” she said, “the one day I don’t think about ‘hey, make sure you leave your toys in the house.’”

The Portsmouth Public Schools’ weapons policy states “weapons related behaviors prohibited on school property include … bringing a toy/look-alike gun to school/school sponsored event.”

Davis believes strict school gun policies are important, but thinks administrators should use common sense and consider each case individually before issuing severe punishments.

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She broke into tears discussing her son’s predicament with WAVY.

“He’s small, he made a mistake, he didn’t understand what he was doing,” she said. “He don’t even understand really what’s going on, and why he can’t bring his toy guns to school.”

Davis is appealing her son’s punishment and is scheduled to make her case in front of the Portsmouth School Board at a hearing Thursday. Her attorney, Tim Anderson, told WAVY that Green’s possible expulsion is illogical.

“We have to have some common sense,” he said. “There’s no doubt it’s a toy gun and from Josiah’s standpoint he had it in his pocket at P.E. He wasn’t even shooting it at anybody. He just had it on him.”

District spokeswoman Ari Durall said “the school board feels the community deserves their attention on matters involving weapons and look-alike guns in schools.

“There are a wide range of options available in addition to expulsion for the school board to take appropriate action,” she said.

About 87 percent of folks who voted on the WAVY Facebook page about the incident believe it was an innocent mistake, while a mere 13 percent believe the zero tolerance approach is appropriate.

“They are clearly toy water/Nerf guns … not even somewhat representative of real guns,” Morgan Harris wrote in the comments. “When did we stop letting children be children?”

“It is time that Portsmouth and other school districts get some common sense. This child thought he was sharing his toy guns with his school friends,” Earl Smoot added. “Ten days of suspension and a possible one year expulsion. You idiots in Portsmouth just think what you are doing to this child!”

“Yes,” Frank Juzbasic posted, “Let’s ruin an entire year of this child’s life and school because the school is too PC and ignorant to understand kids will be kids and those clearly aren’t real.”